TRANSPORT

Aviation: Terrorism

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the International Civil Aviation Organisation's proposals to provide insurance cover for third party casualties in the event of an aircraft crash resulting from a terrorist attack; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is currently working to revise the 1952 Rome Convention on third party liability. The next step is for the ICAO legal committee to consider the latest draft of a convention on unlawful interference. The UK expects to participate in these discussions when they take place next year, but any conclusions remain some way off.

Daedalus Airfield

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response she has made to the joint planning statement for Daedalus airfield by Fareham and Gosport borough councils with particular regards to their requirement that future development should seek to maximise the benefit of the existing runways for general and private aviation use; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Secretary of State has made no response to the Joint Planning Statement for Daedalus, produced by the Fareham and Gosport borough councils in April last year.

Departmental Consultants

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts her Department has with external consultants; what the total value, including all VAT and disbursements, of these contracts are for the current financial year; how long each contract lasts; and what the forecast total value is of each contract.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants in her Department and its predecessors  (a) transferred to other Government departments and  (b) left the Civil Service in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Angela Eagle) on 13 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 203-07W.

Railways: Tickets

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government is taking to encourage co-ordination of rail booking systems throughout Europe; and if she will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Government welcomes the initiative announced in July by Eurostar, as part of Railteam, to give travellers seamless high-speed train travel across international borders. From 2009 their new distribution system will allow international travellers to purchase, make a reservation and receive tickets for Railteam members' services from any distributor of European rail tickets in one transaction.
	The Government have been participating in European initiatives such as the recently adopted Regulation on Rail Passenger Rights, and is monitoring the early development of European technical standards on through ticketing and passenger information systems for travel between European railway destinations.
	The Government believe that the development of rail booking systems throughout Europe is best taken forward as a commercial matter by the operators.

Repairs and Maintenance: A1

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for the delay in the decision and announcement of the A1 motorway upgrade for Disforth to Barton; what her estimate is of the likely start date of the upgrade; and when she expects the inspector's report on the proposed upgrade to be published.

Tom Harris: The inspector's report on the A1 Dishforth to Barton scheme is currently being considered. We expect to announce our decision in early 2008 together with publication of the inspectors report. Subject to the scheme orders being confirmed, it is currently anticipated that works would start on site in late summer 2008.

Walking and Cycling

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff are employed by her Department to work on policies to encourage more  (a) walking and  (b) cycling.

Rosie Winterton: Walking and cycling policies do not fall into neat boxes which enable us to identify exactly how many people deal with each area. The Department's walking and cycling team currently consists of six people. Another team, the sustainable travel team, promotes all forms of sustainable travel which clearly has a strong emphasis on walking and cycling. This includes the Department for Transport (DFT) half of the DFT/Department for Children, Schools and Families School Travel Project: 14,000 schools have school travel plans and for "Walking to school" grants in which 3,200 primary schools are receiving grants for increasing walking through walking buses and other walking initiatives. In addition, colleagues in other teams including traffic management, road safety and communications for example also work on policies to encourage and promote walking and cycling. We also created an independent body, Cycling England, in 2005 which has a budget of £10 million per annum to promote cycling.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Birds of Prey

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to protect birds of prey.

Joan Ruddock: Birds of prey enjoy high levels of protection from killing and taking. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence to kill, take or possess wild birds, including all birds of prey and their eggs. It is also an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb any wild bird listed on Schedule 1 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Most species of birds of prey are listed on Schedule 1.

British Waterways

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he expects to publish the Government's full response to the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' recent report on British Waterways before the Christmas recess.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee published the Government's response (HC1059) on 17 October 2007.

Departmental Assets

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: For reasons of commercial sensitivity it is not possible to itemise the net book value and expected sale revenue of each asset currently planned for disposal. However the Department is taking professional advice to ensure value for money and to maximise the return on these disposals.
	The Department currently anticipates total receipts from the sale of assets of approximately £9 million in 2007-08; £36 million in 2008-09; £10 million in 2009-10 and £5 million in 2010-11. The disposals planned for the latter three years will form part of the Department's asset management strategy to be published in December this year.
	Estimates of sale proceeds are subject to fluctuations in the property market and cannot be guaranteed, nor can it be stated with certainty exactly when these sales will take place.
	It should also be noted that the figures apply to the wider DEFRA network, not just to the core Department. The assets in question are surplus or under-utilised land and property. The largest anticipated sale is that of DEFRA-owned land and buildings at Guildford, and we expect this to account for approximately one third of the income from asset disposals over the period 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Departmental Consultations

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contracts his Department signed on a consultancy basis with a net value of more than £20,000 in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 22 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 78-79W.

Departmental Contracts

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contracts his Department has with external consultants; what the total value, including all VAT and disbursements, of these contracts are for the current financial year; how long each contract lasts; and what the forecast total value is of each contract.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 22 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 78-79W.

Departmental Pay

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average hourly rate paid to consultants hired by his Department was in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The rates paid to consultants reflect the scope and duration of the work; the grade and experience of the consultant(s) chosen for the work; and supply market conditions.
	The Department does not hold information centrally on the average hourly rate paid to consultants hired by the Department in each of the last five years. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Procurement

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which companies have contracts to supply his Department with fish; and when those contracts will end.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are two companies supplying the core Department with fish. Baxter Storey who already promote the use of MSC fish on DEFRA sites and Aramark. The Baxter Storey contract is due to finish in January 2010 and the Aramark contract in June 2009 unless extensions are granted. Both organisations are committed to the use of sustainable fish supplies.
	Aramark for the month of November, will be running a Sustainable Fish promotional campaign on DEFRA sites. On a particular day, not Friday, they will offer their customers the opportunity to sample sustainable white fish alternatives to Cod and Haddock, products such as MSC Hake, Coley, Pollock, Pangasius and Hoki. They will ask customers for feedback on the products and once the feedback has been collated they hope to be in a position to remove Cod and Haddock completely. They have already run this campaign at other customer sites, where customers voted overwhelmingly to remove Cod and Haddock completely from the menu, having enjoyed the alternatives.

Departmental Procurement

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration his Department has given to introducing a sustainable seafood procurement policy.

Jonathan R Shaw: Guidance has been made available to all government procurers on the inclusion of a clause, for catering contracts, that addresses the issue of sourcing sustainable seafood. Advice on how to do this is given in the model specification clauses included in DEFRA's "Catering Services and Food Procurement Toolkit"—see section 2(A) and appendix E. URL:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/pdf/psfpi-clauses.pdf
	DEFRA's own catering contract includes this model clause.

Departmental Procurement

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantity of cod from the North Sea or Eastern Baltic was procured by his Department in 2006.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information supplied by the catering service providers to the core Department shows that "approximately 2.5 kilos per week of cod is used". There is only one supplier currently serving cod on one site. The company, Aramark, are proposing to substitute it with alternatives such as MSC Hake, Coley, Pollock, Pangasius and Hoki if a campaign to promote these species of fish from sustainable sources is well received by customers. Trials elsewhere have proved successful.

Direct Mail: Finance

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the  (a) financial value of direct mail to Royal Mail and  (b) potential impact on Royal Mail's revenues of the introduction of an enforced opt-in system for direct mail;
	(2)  what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the potential impact on the income of the charitable sector of the introduction of an opt-in system for direct mail.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 14 November 2007
	The Waste Strategy for England 2007 commits the Government to exploring with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) whether an opt-in system would be an appropriate mechanism to further reduce unnecessary direct mail. My officials have recently begun discussions on this with the DMA but it is too early for any conclusions to have been reached. My officials also plan to hold discussions with the Royal Mail and with other interested parties on this issue.
	If discussions with the DMA and others suggest that an opt-in system for direct mail would be a practicable and effective way of reducing unwanted direct mail, the Government would put forward draft proposals and hold a full and open consultation on them with all interested parties, including of course the Royal Mail and the charitable sector. Before introducing any new system, and as part of these consultations, an impact assessment would be prepared setting out the anticipated costs and benefits for those affected.

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to ban the sale of electric shock training devices for dogs; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are no plans at present to ban the sale and use of 'electric shock collars'.
	DEFRA has recognised that further research into these types of collars is a priority and a study, based on observation of collars already in use, has been commissioned. This is due to be completed in 2010.
	DEFRA has also asked the Companion Animal Welfare Council, a key advisory body for government on companion animal welfare matters, to undertake an independent study of the available evidence on the use of these electronic training aids. This will help to inform policy development and complement the DEFRA-funded study.
	All research into these areas commissioned by government will be put into the public domain after the study is complete.
	The Animal Welfare Act 2006 provides powers to prohibit or ban the use of any equipment in England and Wales in relation to animals. This can be done through secondary legislation, if considered necessary.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 July 2007,  Official Report , column 1088W.

Dolphins: Japan

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he last met his Japanese counterpart to discuss the killing of dolphins in Japanese waters; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: There have been no recent discussions between DEFRA Ministers and Japanese ministers on this issue.
	The UK recognises with deep concern that these actions still occur in Japanese coastal waters and regularly raise the matter with Japan at the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
	The UK will continue to be extremely critical of these small cetacean (dolphin and porpoise) hunts because of the limited regulation, cruelty and unsustainable numbers taken.

Ducks

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes he proposes to make in respect of the rules and regulations for keeping and breeding ducks for human consumption; what assessment he has made of the welfare of ducks being so bred; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 12 November 2007
	The Animal Welfare Act 2006 protects the welfare of animals on-farm and makes it an offence to cause suffering to any animal. The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 lay down requirements in respect of general welfare, inspection, housing and feeding for all farm animals. The welfare of ducks is also covered by a specific code of recommendations. Flock-keepers are required by law to have access to and be familiar with this code, which encourages high standards of husbandry.
	Animal Health (AH) enforces the welfare legislation and carries out regular inspections at farm premises to check the welfare of livestock. AH also investigates all complaints and allegations about poor welfare on-farm.
	DEFRA has funded a three-year research project to assess the welfare of ducks. The work involved a comprehensive assessment of different commercial systems currently in use in this country. The project is due to report back soon.

Environment Protection: EC action

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to launch the next tranche of consultations on the Environmental Liability Directive.

Joan Ruddock: The second consultation on the Environmental Liability Directive, accompanied by draft regulations, draft guidance and a revised impact assessment will be launched early in the new year.

Inland Waterways

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of boats using inland waterways; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: As can be seen from the following table, the number of boats using our inland waterways owned or managed by British Waterways, the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority over the last five years has risen and reflects the increasing popularity of boating. DEFRA does not keep records of boat numbers on waterways managed by other navigation bodies.
	
		
			   British Waterways  Environment Agency  Broads Authority  Total 
			 2002 26,426 33,127 12,782 72,335 
			 2003 26,240 32,187 12,923 71,350 
			 2004 27,078 31,342 12,917 71,337 
			 2005 29,000 31,535 12,770 73,305 
			 2006 30,905 31,864 12,841 75,610

Inland Waterways: Fees and Charges

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on British Waterways' proposed increases in  (a) licence and  (b) mooring fees for boats using the inland waterways network; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: These are operational matters for British Waterways. However, I have received various representations, in the form of letters, emails and parliamentary questions from hon. Members.
	British Waterways is currently out to consultation on its proposals to increase its licence fees. On mooring fees, British Waterways has assured me that it is committed to a full formal consultation on its moorings trial after completion of a six month trial period. The results of this consultation, as well as the practical experience gained from the trial, will inform its decision as to whether it continues the trial and whether it makes it a permanent arrangement or not.
	I have written to the chairman of British Waterways asking to be kept informed of progress and have his assurance that British Waterways is committed to engaging with its stakeholders on this and other issues. I plan to meet with a cross-section of waterway stakeholders in December to discuss a range of issues of concern to them.

Ivory

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to eradicate the illegal ivory trade in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: My Department part funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) which this year has, for the first time, produced an overarching UK intelligence survey of wildlife crime. This is an important step forward in our efforts to eradicate illegal wildlife trade and ivory is one of the key elements in this study. I am confident that this joint agency approach with the NWCU bringing all elements of intelligence collection together will pay real dividends in the fight against this illegal trade.
	In addition we have spent considerable time raising awareness of controls and restrictions relating to ivory trade with the antiques trade through trade associations and auctioneers. We also commissioned research into ageing ivory which is important as antique worked ivory items are exempt from controls.

Ivory

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the international trade in illegal ivory is eradicated.

Joan Ruddock: International commercial trade in ivory has been prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) since 1989 and this is actively enforced by HM Revenue and Customs at our borders and the police service internally. The illegal import or export of ivory can result in a large fine and/or several years imprisonment.
	The UK fully supports efforts undertaken by the CITES community to improve enforcement activity in source and destination markets as well as working to eradicate illegal trade within the UK itself. The UK financially supports two key CITES programmes related to ivory trade: the Monitoring of the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) and the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) programmes. These enable the international community to monitor poaching and illegal trade levels so resources can be targeted where they are most needed.

Lighting

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what studies have been undertaken by his Department into the  (a) affordability and  (b) safety of high efficiency light bulbs.

Joan Ruddock: My Department, via the Market Transformation Programme, works with the lighting industry, the Energy Saving Trust and Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes to promote energy efficient lighting which is both commercially viable and acceptable to consumers.
	While the upfront cost of energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) has been historically greater than inefficient tungsten filament bulbs, research carried out by the Energy Saving Trust suggests that, because they last up to 10 times longer and use significantly less energy to generate equivalent light levels, efficient bulbs can save householders up to £60 over the lifetime of a bulb in reduced energy bills and replacement costs.
	New products are continually being developed and the retail prices of efficient bulbs have fallen significantly in recent years. In addition, the Energy Efficiency Commitment scheme has helped to drive down the price of energy efficient products, including CFLs, as energy suppliers work with retailers and manufacturers to offer good quality and affordable products to customers. Under the scheme, approximately 82 million CFLs have been distributed or sold to consumers since 2002.
	We are not aware of any particular safety issues associated with high efficiency light bulbs such as CFLs. CFLs do contain a small amount of mercury, typically 3-4 mg, and should be disposed of responsibly. The European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive places a responsibility on manufacturers to ensure that these bulbs are disposed of in a safe manner.

Packaging: EU Law

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 apply to UK companies that sell products which were packaged in  (a) other EU countries which have implemented the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste 94/62/EC and  (b) non-EU countries.

Joan Ruddock: Any business which places packaging or packaging materials on the UK market and has an annual turnover of more than £2 million and handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year is obligated under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 to recover and recycle a proportion of the packaging they handle.

Packaging: EU Law

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has considered the merits of compelling packaging on products sold in the UK to carry a compliance mark to signify that the producer has complied with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007.

Joan Ruddock: In the UK, only companies which have a turnover of over £2 million and handle over 50 tonnes of packaging a year are obligated under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007. Therefore, companies below this threshold level would not need to comply with the provisions in the regulations and would not carry a compliance mark. A mandatory compliance mark could therefore be misleading for consumers.

Paper: Recycling

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to increase recycling rates for paper associated with direct mail.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 14 November 2007
	In July 2003 the Government signed an agreement with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which represents about 900 members involved in the direct mail and promotions industry, to raise recycling levels of direct mail to 30 per cent. by the end of 2005, 55 per cent. by the end of 2009 and 70 per cent. by the end of 2013. In 2003 about 13 per cent. of direct mail was recycled. The DMA estimates that recycling of direct mail rose to 28-30 per cent. in 2005.
	The DMA also agreed to further develop the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) to improve the targeting of addressed direct mail, provide greater flexibility for both consumers and producers, and increase awareness of the service among householders. The DMA estimates that registrations with the MPS rose from 1.1 million in 2003 to 2.7 million in 2005.
	Together with the Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP), the DMA is working to develop a recycle logo to be printed on all direct mail. The DMA is also working with WRAP in conjunction with the paper mills and adhesive manufacturers to minimise the use of materials that may contaminate the recycling process.
	The Waste Strategy for England 2007 commits the Government to working with the DMA to develop an opt-out system for unaddressed direct mail, and to exploring with them whether an opt-in system would be an appropriate mechanism to further reduce unnecessary direct mail. These discussions are underway.

Recycling: Plastics

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what consideration has been given to the relative environmental merits of plastic milk bottles and re-usable glass bottles; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether consideration has been given to the introduction of deposits on glass and plastic bottles; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: My Department has not made any assessment of the merits of using plastic milk bottles or re-usable glass bottles. Assessing the most sustainable option for packaging containers will depend on a number of factors, including transport and the re-use or recycling of materials.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is currently undertaking a life-cycle analysis of milk packaging, which will look at the various different glass and plastic options and will include consideration of the impact of returnable packaging systems. This project is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2008. WRAP is also working with local authorities and manufacturers to increase recycling of both glass and plastic bottles.
	A deposit system for bottles has an obvious appeal to the public, however there would be difficulties in implementing such a system in the UK. In 2004, DEFRA commissioned a project to evaluate whether a deposit system could provide additional value, in combination with the current packaging waste recovery system established in the UK, to achieve wider EC Directive targets. This work took into account existing deposit and return schemes in Europe, the USA and Canada.
	The report's conclusion was that a deposit scheme may not achieve our overall environmental goals since such systems favour packaging formats that do not necessarily deliver environmental benefits.
	A deposit scheme would be extremely expensive when compared to the existing UK packaging system, which uses a market mechanism and a tradable "packaging waste recovery note" (PRN). This system is reputedly the most cost-effective system in Europe for implementing the Packaging Directive.

Seas and Oceans: EC action

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has discussed the planned UK Marine Bill and associated White Paper with  (a) the European Commission and  (b) counterparts from other countries; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA ministers and officials have regular discussions with counterparts from member states and the European Commission on a wide range of marine issues, including our proposals for marine legislation.

Seas and Oceans: EC action

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union, COM(2007) 575 final, 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the proposal to give the Commission the power to develop a roadmap in 2008 to facilitate the development of maritime spatial planning by member states; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he expects the proposed roadmap towards marine spatial planning by member states to be introduced; what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the proposal with the proposed Marine Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: We anticipate that the Commission will introduce the roadmap towards marine spatial planning some time before 2009. The existing outline proposals for an Integrated Maritime Policy set out a framework within which member states can develop their own marine planning arrangements. We believe the UK's current approach will be compatible with the proposed framework, and we will develop our view on the further detailed proposals as they emerge.
	We will be well placed to continue to influence EU policy development on the roadmap because of our parallel work on a Marine Bill.

Seas and Oceans: EC action

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union, COM(2007) 575 final, whether there are any differences between the Commission's use of the concept of maritime spatial planning and his Department's use of the concept of marine spatial planning in the Marine Bill White Paper; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: We see no substantial differences between the two concepts. Indeed, we agree with the concept within the Integrated Maritime Policy that marine spatial planning is a key tool for improving the sustainable development and restoration of marine and coastal areas. As we set out in the proposals in the Marine Bill White Paper in March 2007, marine planning will clarify our marine objectives and priorities for the future, and direct decision-makers and users towards more efficient, sustainable use and protection of our marine resources.

Seas and Oceans: EC action

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what impact the publication of the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union, COM(2007) 575 final, had on the timetable for the Marine Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Publication of the Communication has not had an impact on the timetable for the Marine Bill, which we are working to publish in draft in spring 2008.

WALES

Departmental: Manpower

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the full-time equivalent headcount in his Department is; what the forecast full-time equivalent headcount for his Department is for  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office publishes its headcount in its annual departmental report which is available in the House Library or via our website:
	www.walesoffice.gov.uk
	The planned full-time equivalent headcount stands at 62 per year for each year, and will remain so for 2009-10. The actual out-turn has consistently been below this.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Football: World Cup

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what documentation his Department has produced on the 2018 FIFA World cup bid since 27 June.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department has produced regular updates for Ministers on the 2018 FIFA World cup bid since 27 June.

Music Mentoring Programme

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people have taken part in the Music Mentoring Programme.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 14 November 2007
	1,285 people have taken part in the Respect music mentoring programme since it was launched on 1 November 2006. Youth Music and its partners have appointed and trained 70 adult mentors and 149 peer mentors (aged 16 to 25). 1,066 young people have taken part in either one-to-one or group music mentoring sessions as part of the scheme.

Music Mentoring Programme

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many mentors have been appointed as part of the Music Mentoring Programme announced on 1 November 2006.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 14 November 2007
	Youth Music and its partners have appointed and trained 70 adult mentors and 149 peer mentors (aged 16 to 25) since 1 November 2006 as part of the music mentoring programme.

Olympic Games 2012: Scholarships

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost was of the 2012 scholarship programme in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 14 November 2007
	The total cost of the TASS 2012 scholarship programme in each of the last three years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Total cost (£) 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 875,000 
			 2006-07 946,000

SCOTLAND

Departmental Contracts

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what contracts his Department has with external consultants; what the total value, including all VAT and disbursements, of these contracts are for the current financial year; how long each contract lasts; and what the forecast total value is of each contract.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office has no contracts with external consultants.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what efficiency savings projects his Department put in place under the Spending Review 2004 targets; on what date each was initiated; how much each was expected to contribute to the target; how much was saved by each; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: Following the 2004 spending review, provision for the Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General was flat in nominal terms over the SR04 period. The Offices are committed to achieving efficiency and effectiveness in all areas of their activities and reduced their complement by over 21 per cent. between 2003-04 and 2004-05 with further reductions thereafter. Details are contained in the Offices' Annual Reports.

Departmental Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland at which functions during the last 12 months his Department incurred hospitality expenses and how much has been incurred on each occasion.

David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1363W.

Departmental Manpower

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the full-time equivalent headcount in his Department is; what the forecast full-time equivalent headcount for his Department is for  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The complement and actual staff numbers of the Scotland Office are published in the Office's Annual Report, copies of which are available in the House Library; decisions on the complement for 2009-10 have still to be taken in the light of the CSR2007 settlement.

Departmental Visits

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his official engagements were between 8 and 31 October 2007.

Des Browne: From Monday 8 October to Tuesday 9 October I was in London where I had various meetings, including with Ministerial colleagues and officials from the Scotland Office and MOD. On Tuesday 9 October I attended Cabinet, had a telephone conversation with the First Minister of Scotland and attended the Chancellor's statement on the Comprehensive Spending Review. I had no Scotland Office engagements on Wednesday 10 October, Thursday 11 October or Friday 12 October.
	On Saturday 13 October I attended the Scotland  v. Ukraine Euro 2008 Qualifier at Hampden Park, Glasgow. On Sunday 14 October I attended the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland Futures performance at Glasgow City Halls.
	From Monday 15 October to Wednesday 17 October I was in London where I had various meetings, including with Ministerial colleagues and officials from the Scotland Office and MOD. On Tuesday 16 October I attended Cabinet, and answered Scottish Questions at the House of Commons. That evening I attended the Border and Immigration Agency reception in Dover House. On Wednesday 17 October I met the Chief Executive of Ofgem and that evening I attended the Poppy Scotland reception in Dover House.
	From Thursday 18 October to Saturday 20 October I had no Scotland Office engagements. From Monday 22 October to Tuesday 23 October I was in London where I had various meetings, including with Ministerial colleagues and officials from the Scotland Office and MOD. On Tuesday 23 October I attended Cabinet. That afternoon I delivered a statement on the Gould report in the House of Commons. That evening I attended the CBI reception in Dover House. From Wednesday 24 October to Thursday 25 October I had no Scotland Office engagements.
	On Friday 26 October I attended the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce business breakfast. That afternoon I attended the launch of Stagecoach's bio-diesel coaches in Kilmarnock. From Saturday 27 October to Wednesday 31 October I had no Scotland Office engagements.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many civil servants are employed in provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK employs a broad range of civilian staff in support of the Government of Afghanistan to help develop a stable and secure Afghanistan. Over 30 UK-based staff are employed from across the Government, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, the Ministry of Defence and the Afghanistan Drugs Inter-Departmental Unit in provincial reconstruction teams. Their roles include work in governance, reconstruction and development, security, and counter narcotics.

Departmental ICT

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent implementing the ATLAS enterprise resource planning system.

Douglas Alexander: DFID's enterprise resource planning system is called ARIES (Activities Reporting and Information E-System).
	Further to the answer given to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) on 14 May 2007,  Official Report, column 487W, we have agreed two contract amendments, increasing the contract value to £16 million to finance additional work on testing, compliance with disability equality standards for the accessibility of the system and the training of users. The total expenditure to date, including internal and supplier costs, is £18.1 million.

Departmental Manpower

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many civil servants in his Department  (a) transferred to other Government departments and  (b) left the Civil Service in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 13 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 203-07W.

Members: Correspondence

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development further to his letter of 1 August, when he expects to write to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield.

Gareth Thomas: A reply to the hon. Member's letter of 1 August, from my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State (Baroness Vadera), has now been issued.

Pakistan: Elections

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what stage has been reached in the implementation of his Department's financial support for the electoral process in Pakistan, as announced in January; and what implications the current situation in Pakistan has for this programme.

Douglas Alexander: We have approved £3.5 million to support the electoral process in Pakistan, including strengthening the administrative capacity of the Election Commission of Pakistan and supporting civil society work to increase turnout and educate voters. £1.34 million of the £3.5 million has been spent.
	While we welcome President Musharraf's undertaking to hold elections on schedule, we remain deeply concerned about the situation in Pakistan. We have called on President Musharraf to: restore the constitution and create the conditions necessary to guarantee free and fair elections on schedule in January; release all political prisoners, including members of the judiciary and human rights activists; energetically pursue reconciliation with the political opposition; honour his commitment to step down as Chief of Army Staff and relax restrictions on the media.
	We are keeping our support for elections under review.

St. Helena

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to visit the Island of St. Helena following the appointment of a new Governor; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: I do not have any plans to visit the island of St. Helena following the appointment of a new governor.

JUSTICE

Consultants: Contracts

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what contracts his Department has with external consultants; what the total value, including all VAT and disbursements, of these contracts are for the current financial year; how long each contract lasts; and what the forecast total value is of each contract.

David Hanson: My Department is currently collating information on the use of external consultants in the current financial year and will write to the hon. Member with a substantive reply to his question as soon as possible. A copy of my substantive reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Crime: Victims

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of victims of crime reported satisfaction with the criminal justice system in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: Since 2003-04 the British Crime Survey has included a question that asks respondents who were a victim of crime in the last 12 months how satisfied they were with the way the police and other criminal justice agencies handled the incident. The following table shows the available information on the proportion of victims who said that they were either 'very' or 'fairly satisfied'.
	Proportion of victims of crime from the British Crime Survey who were very/fairly satisfied with the police and other criminal justice agencies handling of the incident
	
		
			   Proportion very/fairly satisfied 
			 2003-04(1) 59 
			 2004-05 59 
			 2005-06 59 
			 2006-07 60 
			 (1) October 2003 to March 2004.

Crimes of Violence: Prisoners Release

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders released on end of custody licences from each prison in England and Wales since 29th June had been convicted of violence against the person.

David Hanson: This information is available on the Ministry of Justice website. The total number of releases by offence group for the first week of the scheme, the remainder of July, and every subsequent month since then. For the period from 29 June to 30 September there have been 1,544 releases.
	29 June to 5 July 2007:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/2007-07tables-for-ECL-report.xls
	6 July to 31 July 2007:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-ecl-0707.pdf
	1 August to 31 August 2007:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-ecl-0807.pdf
	1 September to 30 September 2007:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-ecl-0907.pdf
	It is not possible to reliably determine the numbers released in the violence against the person group for individual establishments, which would require checking of the precise offence for each release. Individual case records at every establishment would need to be checked to ensure accuracy, at disproportionate cost.
	Prison service guidance makes it clear that prisoners serving sentences for the most serious types of violence against the person offences are ineligible for release under End of Custody Licence. The list of excluded offences is at Annex A to Prison Service Instruction 42/2007 which is available on the Prison Service website.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Departmental Manpower

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Welsh speakers his Department employs.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally and would involve a manual check of all staff records which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the full-time equivalent headcount in his Department is; what the forecast full-time equivalent headcount for his Department is for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Full time equivalent (FTE) headcount for the Ministry of Justice is published in the ONS quarterly work force statistics. The latest data (published on 12 September, relating to staff in post at 30 June 2007) show that 79,920 FTEs work in the Ministry of Justice.
	Forecasts for the years 2008-09 and 2009-10 are currently being reviewed, in the light of the comprehensive spending review settlement announced on 9 October 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to reply to the letter of 18 July from the hon. Member for Beaconsfield.

David Hanson: I apologise for the delay. I replied to the hon. Member on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice on Monday 12 November 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to respond to the letter of 11 April 2006 from the hon. Member for Beaconsfield.

Maria Eagle: I can confirm that the hon. Member's letter was received on 18 April 2006. Unfortunately, however, it has been mislaid. Arrangements have been made to obtain a further copy and I will write to the hon. Member soon. I am very sorry for this unfortunate incident.

Offenders

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons working for his Department have unspent criminal convictions.

Maria Eagle: Information on individual employees' unspent convictions is not kept centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost. Criminal record information (unspent and, in certain cases, spent convictions) is requested from applicants applying for jobs within the Ministry, and for certain jobs, requested from the CRB, as part of our recruitment procedures. Employees are also under a continuing obligation to declare any criminal convictions they may receive while they are employed by the Ministry.
	In both circumstances, decisions on the appropriate action to take when convictions come to light are taken locally by managers supported by HR officers who have been trained in dealing with criminal records information.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what average length of time has been spent on purposeful activity by those detained in each  (a) prison and  (b) young offender institutions in England and Wales in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: The average number of hours of purposeful activity per prisoner per week, for each establishment during the financial year 2006-07 is shown in the following table. The primary function is shown for each establishment, with young offender institutes and male juvenile establishments listed first.
	
		
			  Average number of hours of purposeful activity per prisoner per week, 2006-07 
			  Prison  Primary function  Purposeful activity per prisoner per week 
			 Aylesbury Male closed young offender 21.8 
			 Brinsford Male closed young offender 28.8 
			 Castington Male closed young offender 25.7 
			 Deerbolt Male closed young offender 20.8 
			 Feltham Male closed young offender 30.1 
			 Glen Parva Male closed young offender 23.0 
			 Hindley Male closed young offender 29.6 
			 Lancaster Farms Male closed young offender 26.2 
			 Northallerton Male closed young offender 25.8 
			 Portland Male closed young offender 21.7 
			 Reading Male closed young offender 20.6 
			 Rochester Male closed young offender 25.7 
			 Stoke Heath Male closed young offender 25.9 
			 Swinfen Hall Male closed young offender 27.4 
			 Thorn Cross Male open young offender 40.0 
			 Ashfield Male juvenile 30.0 
			 Huntercombe Male juvenile 28.6 
			 Warren Hill Male juvenile 25.8 
			 Werrington Male juvenile 31.5 
			 Wetherby Male juvenile 31.1 
			 Albany Category B 23.0 
			 Dovegate Category B 31.2 
			 Garth Category B 25.5 
			 Gartree Category B 25.0 
			 Grendon Category B 30.2 
			 Highdown Category B 16.3 
			 Kingston Category B 25.6 
			 Lowdham Grange Category B 27.4 
			 Parkhurst Category B 23.3 
			 Rye Hill Category B 28.5 
			 Swaleside Category B 24.1 
			 Acklington Category C 22.2 
			 Ashwell Category C 31.7 
			 Blundeston Category C 25.9 
			 Brockhill Category C 18.9 
			 Buckley Hall Category C 25.5 
			 Bullwood Hall Category C 21.0 
			 Camp Hill Category C 22.0 
			 Canterbury Category C 22.3 
			 Channings Wood Category C 26.1 
			 Coldingley Category C 32.0 
			 Dartmoor Category C 23.1 
			 Edmunds Hill Category C 23.5 
			 Erlestoke Category C 25.5 
			 Everthorpe Category C 28.0 
			 Featherstone Category C 26.1 
			 Guys Marsh Category C 29.8 
			 Haverigg Category C 28.9 
			 Highpoint Category C 25.6 
			 Lancaster Category C 22.9 
			 Lindholme Category C 25.5 
			 Littlehey Category C 25.0 
			 Maidstone Category C 22.9 
			 Moorland Category C 30.7 
			 Mount Category C 27.1 
			 Onley Category C 25.7 
			 Ranby Category C 24.8 
			 Risley Category C 25.3 
			 Shepton Mallet Category C 25.5 
			 Stafford Category C 27.1 
			 Stocken Category C 27.0 
			 Usk\Prescoed Category C 36.5 
			 Verne Category C 28.8 
			 Wayland Category C 26.4 
			 Wealstun Category C 28.3 
			 Wellingborough Category C 25.8 
			 Whatton Category C 22.0 
			 Wolds Category C 30.2 
			 Wymott Category C 30.4 
			 Frankland Dispersal 20.3 
			 Full Sutton Dispersal 20.0 
			 Long Lartin Dispersal 20.7 
			 Wakefield Dispersal 16.8 
			 Whitemoor Dispersal 21.6 
			 Cookham Wood Female closed 29.0 
			 Downview Female closed 27.5 
			 Foston Hall Female closed 22.6 
			 Send Female closed 31.6 
			 Bronzefield Female local 29.4 
			 Eastwood Park Female local 24.5 
			 Holloway Female local 24.0 
			 Low Newton Female local 24.8 
			 New Hall Female local 24.0 
			 Styal Female local 22.0 
			 Askham Grange Female open 41.3 
			 East Sutton Park Female open 43.4 
			 Altcourse Male local 35.0 
			 Bedford Male local 19.8 
			 Belmarsh Male local 14.9 
			 Birmingham Male local 20.9 
			 Blakenhurst Male local 27.1 
			 Bristol Male local 17.6 
			 Brixton Male local 18.0 
			 Bullingdon Male local 21.5 
			 Cardiff Male local 25.6 
			 Chelmsford Male local 23.3 
			 Doncaster Male local 23.3 
			 Dorchester Male local 17.7 
			 Durham Male local 17.4 
			 Elmley Male local 19.5 
			 Exeter Male local 19.8 
			 Forest Bank Male local 26.6 
			 Gloucester Male local 19.8 
			 Holme House Male local 17.3 
			 Hull Male local 23.5 
			 Leeds Male local 23.5 
			 Leicester Male local 25.5 
			 Lewes Male local 22.3 
			 Lincoln Male local 19.4 
			 Liverpool Male local 21.5 
			 Manchester Male local 22.5 
			 Norwich Male local 22.1 
			 Nottingham Male local 24.7 
			 Pare Male local 32.2 
			 Pentonville Male local 17.3 
			 Preston Male local 20.3 
			 Shrewsbury Male local 19.1 
			 Swansea Male local 17.2 
			 Wandsworth Male local 23.0 
			 Winchester Male local 21.8 
			 Woodhill Male local 17.3 
			 Wormwood Scrubs Male local 21.5 
			 Ford Male open 40.7 
			 Hewell Grange Male open 41.4 
			 Hollesley Bay Male open 38.2 
			 Kirkham Male open 40.7 
			 Leyhill Male open 39.6 
			 North Sea Camp Male open 39.5 
			 Standford Hill Male open 38.8 
			 Sudbury Male open 41.3 
			 Blantyre House Semi open 55.7 
			 Drake Hall Semi open 34.1 
			 Haslar Semi open 53.3 
			 Kirklevington Semi open 54.5 
			 Latchmere House Semi open 49.2 
			 Morton Hall Semi open 32.7

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what expenditure was incurred for maintenance and repair of prisoner accommodation in 2006-07.

Maria Eagle: National Offender Management Service (NOMS) information on major maintenance is recorded under project headings and to identify work that was carried out solely on prisoner accommodation could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	In the year 2006-07, £70 million was spent on major maintenance projects across the custodial estate and a further £105.5 million on major refurbishment projects. Prison establishments also have limited allocations of funding for local maintenance and repairs.

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance his Department has issued to the Crown Prosecution Service on plea bargaining.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	The Attorney-General issued guidelines on the acceptance of pleas and the prosecutor's role in the sentencing exercise in October 2005; these can be found on
	www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk.
	These guidelines superceded earlier guidance on the acceptance of pleas issued by the Attorney-General in December 2000.

Sexual Offences

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been  (a) prosecuted for and  (b) convicted of vice-related offences in England and Wales in each of the last five years; and how many of these have been (i) UK citizens, (ii) EU foreign nationals and (iii) non-EU foreign nationals.

Maria Eagle: There is no specific definition of a 'vice'-related offence, however there are a number of offences which can, in some cases, relate to vice. Information on the number of people proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for these offences in England and Wales from 2001 to 2005 are provided in the following table.
	Information on the nationality of those proceeded against is not held by my Department, and data for 2006 will be available shortly.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for selected sexual offences, England and Wales 2001-2005( 1, 2) 
			  Offence description  Principal statute  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Kerb-crawling. Sexual Offences Act 1985 Sec 1 916 1,053 956 841 717 775 891 834 760 635 
			 Placing an advertisement relating to prostitution. Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 S.46. 6 586 420 410 435 5 549 396 376 408 
			 Common prostitute loitering or soliciting for the purpose of prostitution. Street Offences Act 1959 Sec l 3,129 2,909 2,956 2,002 1,376 2,841 2,668 2,627 1,735 1,116 
			  Other offences(3) 147 178 134 162 162 104 133 97 106 97 
			  Total 4,198 4,726 4,466 3,415 2,690 3,725 4,241 3,954 2,977 2,256 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes offences under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 Secs 2-4, 9, 22-24, 27-29, 30, 31, 33A, the Sexual Offences Act 1967 Sec 5(1), the sexual Offences Act 1985 Sec 2, the sexual Offences Act 2003 SS 14, 47-50, 52, 53, 55, 57-58, 62 and the Vagrancy Act 1824 Sec 3 and 4.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Business: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many business support staff were employed by statutory agencies operating within the Copeland area in the last period for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: Data are only available for West Cumbria Development Agency (WCDA) staff, which was the main organisation providing support in the Copeland area. According to WCDA, there were 14 people (mainly part-time) who worked on business support for WCDA. Two full-time equivalent staff ran the start-up programme.
	In addition staff at Activ8 Solutions Ltd, the Business Link supplier in Cumbria, will have provided support to businesses in Copeland. The Business Link employed around 50 staff, and approximately eight of these will be attributable to the Copeland area.

Chocolate: Standards

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will bring forward measures to ensure that all chocolate manufacturers adopt minimum standards for transparency, independent inspections, fairer pricing and child welfare in their cocoa supply chains; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: In its contacts with the industry the Government will encourage chocolate manufacturers to respond voluntarily to the growing public concern about sourcing and standards in their supply chains. The actions of consumers will also help shape manufacturers' decisions in this regard.
	The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has regular stakeholder meetings with representatives of the food sector, including the confectionery industry.

Departmental NDPBs

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) budget and  (b) remit is of each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department; who the chairman is of each; and to what salary, including bonuses and expenses, each chairman is entitled.

Gareth Thomas: Details of the budgets, remits and chairmen's salaries of the Department's non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are published in the Public Bodies Directory 2007 and relate to the position as at 31 March 2007. The Report can be found at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/about/strategy-objectives/annual-spending/page4039.html
	Information on Chairmen's bonuses should be contained in each NDPB's annual report and accounts, which are normally available on the body's website. Alterations to the Department's public bodies announced during the machinery of Government changes in June 2007 are as follows:
	From Cabinet Office to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)
	 Executive NDPB
	Local Better Regulation Office
	 Advisory NDPB
	Better Regulation Commission
	From BERR to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
	 Executive NDPB
	British Hallmarking Council
	Design Council
	Research Councils
	Technology Strategy Board
	 Advisory NDPB
	Council for Science and Technology
	 Tribunal NDPBs
	Copyright Tribunal
	 Agencies
	NWML
	UK Intellectual Property Office

Departments: Disabled Access

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer of 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 691W, which buildings occupied by his Department  (a) are and  (b) are not part of the HQ estate and which buildings not part of the HQ estate (i) are and (ii) are not fully accessible to disabled people.

Gareth Thomas: Buildings occupied by my Department and which are part of the BERR HQ estate are as follows:
	
		
			  Building  Location 
			 1 Victoria Street London 
			 Kingsgate house London 
			 Westfield House London 
			 St. Mary's House Sheffield 
			 Atholl House Aberdeen 
			 Tay House Glasgow 
			 Amberley House Gloucester 
			 Newtown House Nottingham 
		
	
	All buildings occupied by my Department's executive agencies (Companies House and The Insolvency Service) and which are not part of the BERR HQ estate are shown in the following tables. All are fully accessible to disabled people.
	
		
			  Companies House  Location 
			 Crown Way Cardiff 
			 The Access Building Nantgarw 
		
	
	
		
			  Insolvency Service  Location 
			 21 Bloomsbury Street London 
			 83 Hagley Road Birmingham 
			 Ladywood House Birmingham 
			 Newfield House Blackpool 
			 Richmond House Bournemouth 
			 69/70 Middle Pavement Brighton 
			 100 Victoria Street Bristol 
			 Abbeygate House Cambridge 
			 Marlowe House Canterbury 
			 Companies House Cardiff 
			 Prince Regent House Chatham 
			 Windsor House Chester 
			 Sunley House Croydon 
			 Ladywell House Edinburgh 
			 Senate Court Exeter 
			 Southgate House Gloucester 
			 Anchor House Hull 
			 St. Clare House Ipswich 
			 1 City Walk Leeds 
			 Wellington House Leicester 
			 Cunard Building Liverpool 
			 Boulton House Manchester 
			 City Tower Manchester 
			 Melbourne House Newcastle 
			 Copthall House Newcastle Under Lyme 
			 Sol House Northampton 
			 Emmanuel House Norwich 
			 The Frontage Nottingham 
			 Cobourg House Plymouth 
			 Apex Plaza Reading 
			 Trident House St. Albans 
			 City Plaza Sheffield 
			 Waterside House Southampton 
			 Central House Southend 
			 St. Marks House Stockton 
			 Sun Alliance House Swansea 
			 Exchange House Watford

Entertainments: Tickets

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading on  (a) the improvement of information for consumers in relation to the total cost of buying event entertainment tickets and  (b) the rules governing event entertainment advertising; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has taken forward the recommendations in its 2005 report on "ticket agents in the UK". For example, to work with local authority trading standards services to ensure ticket sellers comply with relevant consumer protection legislation, to consider enforcement action where necessary and to work with a trade association to produce model contract terms.
	On advertising, the OFT recommended that the Committee of Advertising Practice should amend its guidance so all non broadcast event advertising is required to include the face value of the ticket, while indicating that additional fees may apply and could vary depending on the sales channel and ticket seller used. The Advertising Standards Authority acted on OFT's recommendation and amended its guidance in April 2005 but did not require advertisers to include the face value of tickets in adverts. The OFT is continuing to work with the ASA, in relation to reforming the Committee of Advertising Practice's code in line with the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and its UK implementation.
	The OFT will monitor the effects of the new legislation and changes to the ASA code before considering whether further action is needed.

Imports: Renewable Energy

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value was of renewable energy generating equipment imported into the UK in the last five years; and what the value of such equipment manufactured in the UK was over the same period.

Malcolm Wicks: The renewable energy generation market was worth of the order of £800 million in 2006 and is set to grow in future years; this figure covers more than just equipment.
	The Office for National Statistics publishes detailed breakdowns of data on trade in and manufacturer sales of generation equipment in their annual publication "PRA31100 Product Sales and Trade: Electric Motors, Generators and Transformers"; these figures do not distinguish between generating equipment used for renewable energy and that used for other purposes. The data can be accessed from:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/product.asp?vlnk=8101

Infosec

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many meetings of the Infosec forum on nuclear security information have been held in the last 12 months; which organisations attend the forum; whether the funding comes from the budget of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security; and if he will publish the minutes of each meeting.

Malcolm Wicks: The Infosec forum is a medium for information security specialists in the civil nuclear industry to share best practice. The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) facilitates the forum. In addition to OCNS, the attendees are UKAEA, Sellafield Ltd, Springfield Fuels Ltd, British Energy, Magnox North, Magnox South, BNFL, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Urenco, Nexia Solutions, Project Services and HSE's Nuclear Directorate. Two meetings of the forum have taken place in 2007. Participants, including OCNS, finance the forum on a rotational basis.
	Although no formal minutes of the forum are taken, specific areas on which work has taken place this year include mobile computing and the introduction of the 'protect' sub-security marking.

Manufacturing Industries: Automation

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his policy is on promoting the automation of British manufacturing; and what incentives are available for those companies who wish to automate.

Stephen Timms: Support and encouragement for the development of advanced manufacturing techniques is a key element of Government policy to promote a high value modern manufacturing sector. The Technology Strategy Board supports innovation and collaborative research and development into a wide range of leading edge technologies including robotics and automation.
	The most recent competition under the technology programme announced on 8 November by John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, seeks proposals to develop new high value manufacturing techniques to secure the nation's future manufacturing base with research on the next generation of production techniques
	Government also provide a range of support through the Businesslink network and the Manufacturing Advisory Service to help companies in all sectors to improve their performance.

Overseas Trade: Pakistan

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many UK registered businesses trade  (a) with Pakistan and  (b) in Pakistan.

Gareth Thomas: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) Total figure of those traders on the UK VAT register who have declared trade in goods with Pakistan in 2006 is 6,168. No data is available for businesses in the services sector.
	 (b) No official statistics are maintained on UK registered businesses in Pakistan. It is estimated that some 100 UK companies operate within Pakistan.

Radioactive Waste Management

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will publish an update on the review of security arrangements for nuclear waste storage being undertaken by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Malcolm Wicks: Following the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management's 2006 recommendations, the NDA is currently in the process of carrying out a review of higher activity waste storage on behalf of Government. In drawing up the review, NDA has extended the scope beyond the narrowest definition of 'durability of stores' in order to address the concerns expressed on storage of non-immobilised wastes in various legacy facilities. The NDA will not include a detailed assessment of the security arrangements for waste storage facilities because this is the responsibility of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) (part of the Nuclear Directorate of the HSE), the Government regulator for security in the civil nuclear industry.
	OCNS ensures that all nuclear wastes on licensed nuclear sites or in transit, are subject to a level of security commensurate with their category and activity in accordance with the demanding requirements of the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR 03). Security arrangements are kept under constant review by OCNS who liaise with NDA and site licensees to ensure compliance with NISR 03.

Small Businesses: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many new small businesses have been established within Copeland in the last five years; and how many received support and advice through  (a) Business Link and  (b) other agencies.

Stephen Timms: Value added tax (VAT) registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and closures. BERR data on the number of VAT registrations, and the start of year stock of VAT registered businesses in Copeland local authority from 2001 to 2005 are shown in the following table. Data for 2006 will be published 14 November 2007.
	
		
			  VAT registrations and start of year VAT stock in Copeland local authority 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Registrations 80 110 190 110 110 N/A 
			 Stock 1,510 1,495 1,515 1,610 1,625 1,640 
			  Source: Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2005, BERR, available from http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat 
		
	
	Although the number of registrations in Copeland local authority has fluctuated, the start of year stock has risen by 9 per cent. between the start of 2001 and the start of 2006.
	VAT registrations do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which was £60,000 at the start of 2006. Only 1.9 million out of 4.5 million UK enterprises (41 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2006.

Small Businesses: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value of business start up grants made to new businesses in Copeland was in the last five financial years.

Stephen Timms: The only grants used to provide start up support were delivered via West Cumbria Development Agency (WCDA). WCDA have provided business start up support since April 2003 to November 2007.
	WCDA state that £1,000 was given to each company as a grant. 94 start-up businesses were provided with a grant over this period, and £94,000 was given in total as a grant. In addition to this, training and assistance was given via WCDA staff and consultants which is estimated at £2,500 per start up company i.e. an additional £235,000 of support was given to SMEs in Copeland, making £329,000 of support in total.

Small Businesses: Copeland

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of new job opportunities that have been created by the small business sector in Copeland in the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: Neither the Northwest Regional Development Agency nor the West Cumbria Development Agency holds this information.

Toys and Games: Safety

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to strengthen the regulation of the safety of toys; and what discussions he has had on the subject with the European Commission.

Gareth Thomas: At present we believe that the safety level set out in the Toys Directive and therefore the UK Toy Safety Regulations is appropriate, and that our market surveillance system is robust.
	However, it is appropriate and important that we keep the situation under review. In light of this BERR officials have discussed toy safety with DG Enterprise officials on September 18 and at a special meeting of the General Product Safety Committee on 3 October.
	My Department also held a Toy Safety Summit with interested parties held 29 October where the revision of the Toy Safety Directive and the Commission's toy safety stock-taking exercise were discussed.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK personnel are working with operational mentoring and liaison teams in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in another place by my noble Friend, Lord Drayson on 15 October 2007, House of Lords,  Official Report, column WA33.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK forces personnel there are on operational duty in each foreign country; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table provides the number of personnel deployed on operations by operation and location at 28 October 2007.
	The number of personnel deployed on operational duty is constantly under review in order to ensure operational objectives are sustainable.
	
		
			  Number of personnel deployed by operation and location( 1) 
			  Operation  Number 
			 Total 14,540 
			  of which:  
			 Telic 6,390 
			  of which:  
			 Iraq 4,970 
			 Qatar 420 
			 Oman 270 
			 Kuwait 140 
			 Bahrain 60 
			 At Sea 540 
			   
			 Herrick 7,640 
			  of which:  
			 Afghanistan 7,640 
			   
			 Oculus 170 
			  of which:  
			 Kosovo 140 
			 Bosnia 20 
			   
			 UN 320 
			  of which:  
			 Cyprus 290 
			 (1) Countries with 10 or more personnel are shown separately.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what system is used to ensure resupply of the combat 95 clothing system and other individual equipment in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq.

Bob Ainsworth: The system, used in both operational theatres, for the re-supply of clothing and individual equipment is the GLOBAL Inventory Management System. When stock levels in theatre cannot meet demand GLOBAL is used to submit a replenishment demand back to the UK. Stock is then issued to theatre to satisfy the requirement.

Iraq: Foreign Workers

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many third country nationals of each nationality have been employed by his Department in Iraq in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Available records indicate that UK military forces in Iraq have employed directly some 148 individuals not of UK or Iraqi nationality over this period. Details are set out in the table, broken down by the year in which each was recruited. However, it is possible that this information is not complete, especially for the initial stages of the deployment into Iraq, when some staff were recruited at short notice to meet urgent operational requirements, and data capture for these individuals may be incomplete.
	
		
			  Nationality/ Ethnicity  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  Total 
			 Kuwaiti 1 — — — — 1 
			 Arabian 1 — — — 1 2 
			 Bengali — 1 — — — 1 
			 Lebanese — 1 — 2 4 7 
			 Somali — 1 — 2 5 8 
			 USA — 2 3 1 1 7 
			 Indian — — — 8 9 17 
			 Pakistani — — — 4 30 34 
			 Egyptian — — — 10 42 52 
			 Afghan — — — 1 — 1 
			 Jordanian — — — 2 10 12 
			 Canadian — — — — 1 1 
			 New Zealand — — — — 1 1 
			 Palestinian — — — — 4 4 
			 Total 2 5 3 30 108 148 
		
	
	These figures do not include Commonwealth soldiers serving with the UK armed forces, UK-based civilian personnel, or contractor staff supporting the UK armed forces.

Military Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft there were in the RAF in 1997, broken down by aircraft type on the same basis as the answer provided on military aircraft on 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 509W.

Des Browne: The numbers of aircraft that were planned to be in service with the RAF service on 31 March 1997 are contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Aircraft type  Fleet numbers 
			 Tornado GR 142 
			 Tornado F3 111 
			 Harrier 70 
			 Nimrod 29 
			 Tristar 9 
			 VC10 (1)26 
			 Sentry 7 
			 Hercules (2)56 
			 Islander 2 
			 BAe 146 3 
			 BAe 125 (3)8 
			 Sea King 25 
			 Dominie 10 
			 Hawk 100 
			 Tucano 73 
			 Vigilant 53 
			 Jaguar 54 
			 Bulldog 116 
			 Canberra 9 
			 Jetstream 10 
			 Janus 2 
			 Valiant 4 
			 Viking 82 
			 Chinook 34 
			 Puma 37 
			 Sea King 25 
			 Gazelle 21 
			 Wessex 50 
			 (1) Actual numbers were 27. (2) Actual numbers were 55. (3) Actual numbers were six. The planned figure does not reflect the retirement of two BAe 125 aircraft.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the in-year budget was for helicopter procurement in  (a) 1996-97,  (b) 1997-98,  (c) 1999-2000 and  (d) 2001-02.

Bob Ainsworth: Budget figures for the early years are no longer held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The in-year budget for all helicopter procurement projects for financial year 2001-02 is £842 million. This figure excludes funding for emergent urgent requirements and some commodity items bought in support of these projects.

Military Equipment: Israel

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value was of UK military-related imports from Israel in each of the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: The total value of UK imports of defence equipment from Israel, for the last five years where data are available, are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Identified UK imports of defence equipment 
			   £ million( 1) 
			 2002 5 
			 2003 42 
			 2004 8 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 2 
			 (1) Rounded to nearest £ million at current prices 
		
	
	Data are based on HM Revenue and Customs information relating to defence equipment reported to UK Customs. Defence equipment is identified by an agreed set of tariff codes intended to capture the movement of military equipment.

Military Equipment: Libya

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what types of armaments and military equipment have been exported to Libya from the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and how much was paid for such material.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government publish detailed information on export licences issued, including the overall value and number of export licences approved for Libya and a summary of the items covered by these licences, in its Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls. This information is available for licences issued only and not for equipment actually exported.
	The Government's Annual Reports, published since 1997, are available from the Libraries of the House and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029395474
	The Government have published quarterly reports on Strategic Export Controls since January 2004 and these are also available from this website.

Trident Missiles

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his timetable is for reducing the number of Trident warheads to below 160.

Des Browne: The December 2006 White Paper: The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent (Cm 6994) announced a further reduction in our holdings of operationally available nuclear warheads, in line with the UK's commitment to maintain only the minimum necessary deterrent. I can confirm that we have now reduced the number of operationally available warheads from fewer than 200 to fewer than 160.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House if she will break down the figures referred to in the answer of 23 October 2007,  Official Report, column 221W, on Departments: official hospitality, giving the amount spent on each function at which hospitality expenses were incurred.

Helen Goodman: Following a Machinery of Government change, detailed information on expenditure incurred in the 2006-07 financial year is only available at disproportionate cost.

Parliamentary Year

Greg Pope: To ask the Leader of the House what the names and local authorities are of the schools whose holiday dates were analysed in her preparation of the proposed House of Commons calendar of sittings for 2007-08.

Helen Goodman: A sample of local education authority calendars from all the nations were considered in preparing the House of Commons calendar.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Drugs: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crack houses in Hertfordshire have been closed in the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Data are provided on a voluntary basis by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. According to the CDRP voluntary survey, 10 crack house closures have been issued to date in Hertfordshire, four in 2005-06 and six so far in 2006-07.

Parenting Contracts

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) acceptable behaviour orders and  (b) parenting orders were issued in (i) Peterborough and (ii) Cambridgeshire in each year since their introduction; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Data on acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) are not collected by the Home Office as they are voluntary agreements and therefore not suitable for central data collection. However, surveys of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) indicate that over 25,000 ABCs have been made since October 2003. The Home Office recently issued updated and comprehensive guidance for practitioners on the use of ABCs.
	Parenting orders were piloted between 30 September 1998 and 31 March 2000 but data showing the breakdown by area are not available for that period. Parenting orders were commenced in England and Wales in June 2000. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has collected the number of parenting orders by Youth Offending Team ("YOT") area since April 2000, as reported to it by YOTs including education-related orders where the YOT has been involved.
	Since September 2004, the Department for Children, Schools and Families has collected data on the number of parenting orders in England related to non-attendance of children at school and exclusion from school at local authority level.
	The numbers of parenting orders relating to crime or antisocial behaviour from April 2000 until March 2007 and those related to non-attendance of children at school until March 2004 reported to the YJB by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough YOTs are shown in table A: The number of parenting orders made following truancy prosecution between 1 September 2004 and 13 April 2007 is shown in table B:
	
		
			  Table A: Parenting orders related to youth offending or antisocial behaviour and non-attendance reported by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough YOT 
			   Cambridgeshire YOT  Peterborough YOT  Total 
			   Youth offending or antisocial behaviour  Non-attendance where YOT involved  Youth offending or antisocial behaviour  Non-attendance where YOT involved  
			 2000-01 0 0 9 0 9 
			 2001-02 1 0 21 0 22 
			 2002-03 4 0 13 0 17 
			 2003-04 1 0 11 0 12 
			 2004-05 2 (1)— 23 (1)— 25 
			 2005-06 13 (1)— 22 (1)— 35 
			 2006-07 8 (1)— 23 (1)— 31 
			 (1) See table B 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Parenting orders made following truancy prosecution between one September 2004 and 13 April 2007 
			  School year  Parenting orders for truancy 
			 2004-05 2 
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 0

Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many permits were granted in each of the last five years under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme;
	(2)  how many permits were granted under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme has been operational since 1 January 2004. The number of work cards issued since that date is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of work cards issued 
			 2004 20,420 
			 2005 16,115 
			 2006 15,980 
			 To 30 September 2007 15,935 
			 Total 68,450 
		
	
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Security Guards: Licensing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the backlog for determining licence applications by the Security Industry Authority is, broken down by type of licence.

Vernon Coaker: The SIA do not have any backlogs in determining licence applications.
	As at 12 November, there were 15,089 applications at various processing stages. This includes applications that cannot be processed until additional information is received. The SIA does not record applications by type of licence until processing is complete and a decision has been taken.
	The postal strikes in October caused some delays in the receipt, return and processing of applications. All licences issued during the strike should now have been received by the applicants. Processing times for applications sent to the SIA during the strike may continue to be affected, and delays of one or two weeks may be experienced.

Terrorism

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of likely  (a) insured and  (b) uninsured costs to (i) London and (ii) any other UK cities of a terrorist attack similar to that which took place in New York on 11 September 2001.

Tony McNulty: An economic impact assessment alongside social and other impacts to the UK of a range of possible terrorist and non-terrorist events forms part of the UK resilience planning process. This assessment does not distinguish between insured and uninsured costs.

Terrorism: Detainees

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been detained without charge on suspicion of terrorist offences for 28 days; and how many of these were  (a) charged and  (b) released without charge.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 13 November 2007
	The maximum period of detention pre-charge was extended to 28 days with effect from 25 July 2006. Statistics compiled from police records show that to date six people have been held for 27 to 28 days. Of these, three individuals were charged and three were released without charge.

Terrorism: Detainees

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any suspects detained without charge on suspicion of terrorist offences for 28 days and then released without charge have been subsequently re-arrested and charged with a terrorist offence.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 13 November 2007
	The maximum period of detention pre-charge was extended to 28 days with effect from 25 July 2006. Statistics compiled from police records show that to date six people have been held for 27 to 28 days. Of these three individuals were released without charge. We do not keep figures on re-arrests.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

BAE Systems

Roger Berry: To ask the Solicitor-General whether investigators from the  (a) US Department of Justice and  (b) other US officials have held meetings with (i) her Department and (ii) staff from the Serious Fraud Office with regard to allegations of misconduct involving BAE Systems in relation to Saudi Arabia.

Vera Baird: Since the decision to discontinue the investigation into BAe Systems plc in relation to Saudi Arabia on 14 December 2006 there has been one meeting between staff from the Serious Fraud Office and officials from the US Department of Justice and other officials.

Mohammed Salih

Bob Laxton: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps she is taking in relation to Mohammed Salih from Iraq, wanted in the UK in connection with the killing of Banaz Mahmood; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: It would be inappropriate to comment on specific cases where extradition proceedings may or may not be pending. In general, extradition arrangements do exist between the UK and Iraq and the UK is a party to an extradition treaty with Iraq.

Young Offenders: Fines

David Burrowes: To ask the Solicitor-General what the policy of the Crown Prosecution Service is on financial penalties for juvenile offenders where a parent of the offender was the victim of the offence.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service has no specific policy on financial penalties for youth offenders. The imposition of a fine is a matter for the court that sentences the youth offender.
	The prosecutors role in the sentencing process is detailed in the 'Attorney-General's Guidelines on the Acceptance of Pleas and the Prosecutors Role in Sentencing'. These guidelines state that during sentencing the prosecutor must represent the public interest as well as the specific interests of victims. Prosecutors must be ready to assist the court by placing before it relevant information concerning the impact of the offending on the victim and the community, as well as relevant statutory provisions, sentencing guidelines and case law. In carrying out their function, prosecutors must also consider whether to apply for compensation for the victim, or another suitable ancillary order.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Assets

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Fareham on 30 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1158W.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what efficiency savings projects her Department put in place under the Spending Review 2004 targets; on what date each was initiated; how much each was expected to contribute to the target; how much was saved by each; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The details of the workstreams within our efficiency programme, including how much each was predicted to contribute towards the SR04 target are contained within the efficiency technical note published in December 2005 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	The Department regularly publishes details on the progress made on meeting its efficiency target, including a breakdown of efficiency savings made in each workstream, in both its annual report and autumn performance report.

Homelessness

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 18 April 2006,  Official Report, column 105W, on homelessness, when she expects to publish the research commissioned from Herriot Watt University to evaluate the range of homelessness prevention initiatives in case study local authorities.

Iain Wright: The summary of the research findings and the good practice guide based on the research were both published in June 2006.
	The final report will be published shortly.

Housing: Finance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress is being made on the self-financing Housing Revenue Account pilot scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Modelling work by a group of local authorities and arms length management organisations has identified potentially significant benefits from allowing some local authorities to leave the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system. This is however a complex matter and any changes must not disadvantage those councils who depend on the redistributive system to subsidise their housing services. The Housing Green Paper, 'Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable', published in July, confirmed that we would set out our conclusions and next steps in the autumn.

Housing: Low Incomes

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued on the definition of affordable housing to be used by planning authorities when considering planning applications for mixed housing.

Iain Wright: A new definition of affordable housing appears in Planning Policy Statement 3—Housing which was published in November 2006. The definition states that:
	"Affordable housing includes social rented and intermediate housing, provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market. Affordable housing should:
	Meet the needs of eligible households including availability at a cost low enough for them to afford, determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices.
	Include provision for the home to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households or, if these restrictions are lifted, for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative housing provision."
	Local planning authorities are required to use this definition when preparing plan policies and determining planning applications for housing.
	Further guidance is included in the accompanying document "Delivering Affordable Housing". It is for local planning authorities to use these documents to inform decisions on individual cases with reference to local needs.

Local Government: Standards

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the description is of each national indicator for which a description is available.

John Healey: The 198 national indicators for local authorities and local authority partnerships were announced as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. In reducing the number of indicators to from around 1,200 to 198 the Government have delivered on the first part of its commitment to streamline the local performance framework.
	To be effective indicators need to be clearly defined in a way that is meaningful on the ground. On 8 November we published a consultation seeking feedback on the detailed definitions on the 198 indicators.
	The consultation will run until 21 December and seeks views from local authorities and their partners on the methodology, frequency of reporting and data source of each individual indicator. The consultation document contains full descriptions of the national indicators and is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/indicatorsdefinitions.

Maps: Licensing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many licences were granted under section 107 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 for people to use Ordnance Survey maps in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: Ordnance Survey has granted no licences specifically under section 107 of the Copyright and Design and Patents Act 1988 in any of the last five years.

Non-domestic Rates: Small Businesses

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many small businesses in Copeland have applied for small business rate relief over the last five financial years.

John Healey: The information requested is not available. However, as at 31 December 2006, there were 504 business in Copeland that were in receipt of small business rate relief.

Rented Housing: Rents

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the impact of her policy of rent restructuring.

Iain Wright: No formal assessment of the policy has been made since the recommendations of the three-year review undertaken in 2004, which made three recommendations:
	higher bedroom weights for three- and four-bed properties, and new, higher weightings for properties with five and six (or more) bedrooms;
	from April 2005, using the same formula for restructuring local authority rents as that which is currently used for restructuring RSL rents, and adopting the RPI as the inflation measure used in calculating local authority rent increases.
	local authorities should ignore the downward limit of RPI+ 0.5 per cent. minus £2 per week on rent changes, in order to achieve restructuring on all properties for which rents need to fall by 2011-12. The Housing Corporation should also encourage associations to do the same, where their finances permit.
	After further consultation with stakeholders, these recommendations were implemented in full from 1 April 2006.
	The Government wish to see the policy implemented for a period of time before considering a formal assessment.

HEALTH

Abortion

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of English conceptions which ended in terminations in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Annual statistics on abortions as a percentage of all conceptions (England and Wales) since 2001 
			  Conceptions—all ages 
			   Total (thousand)  Percentage ending i n abortion 
			 2001 763.7 23.2 
			 2002 787.0 22.5 
			 2003 806.8 22.5 
			 2004 826.8 22.4 
			 2005 837.4 22.3

Alcoholic Drinks: Rehabilitation

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding was available for alcohol rehabilitation services in each of the last five years, broken down by strategic health authority.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not held centrally.

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust: Doctors

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) doctors and  (b) accident and emergency doctors were employed by Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The following table shows all medical and dental staff working within Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals National Health Service Trust(1) and of those staff, those working in the accident and emergency specialty by year
	
		
			  Number (headcount) 
			  As at 30 September each year  All medical and dental staff  Of which: Accident and emergency 
			 1997 407 40 
			 1998 403 53 
			 2000 405 39 
			 2001 442 43 
			 2002 443 37 
			 2003 471 37 
			 2004 559 46 
			 2005 588 44 
			 2006 599 51 
			 (1) 1997 and 1998 show Wellhouse NHS Trust and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust. These organisations merged in April 1999 to form Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust.

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust: Nurses

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) nurses and  (b) accident and emergency nurses were employed by Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The information is not held in the format requested. Although numbers of nursing and midwifery staff are recorded, the numbers of those working within accident and emergency cannot be separately identified.
	The following table lists the number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed by Barnet and Chase Farm National Health Service Trust.
	
		
			  Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff( 1) 
			  As at 30 September each year  Number (headcount) 
			 1997 1,560 
			 1998 1,533 
			 2000 1,440 
			 2001 1,570 
			 2002 1,711 
			 2003 1,740 
			 2004 1,731 
			 2005 1,715 
			 2006 1,692 
			 (1) More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total work force figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years' figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years' figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures. This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what extra funding he plans to make available to primary care trusts to allow them to extend breast cancer screening to women between the ages of 47 and 73 years.

Ann Keen: In September, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced proposals for cancer services including extending the breast cancer screening age range to women aged between 47 and 73.
	We aim to publish the Cancer Reform Strategy, which will set out the future direction of cancer services in England, by the end of the year. Details on the implementation of the proposals already announced will be issued in due course.
	Funding for the extension of the breast screening programme has been included in the comprehensive spending review settlement, and will be allocated to and managed by NHS Cancer Screening Programmes on behalf of primary care trusts.

Broomfield Hospital: Private Finance Initiative

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive Treasury approval for the Broomfield hospital private finance initiative scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The full business case for the £147 million Broomfield hospital private finance initiative scheme for Mid Essex Hospitals Services NHS Trust was approved by the Department and HM Treasury on 14 November. The scheme can now proceed to financial close.

Cancer: Consultants

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancer specialists were recruited in each year since 2000; how many full time equivalent cancer specialists there were in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: holding answer 12 November 2007
	Figures on recruitment of cancer consultants are not collected centrally but the following table shows the increase in consultants numbers over the previous year.
	
		
			  Number of cancer consultants( 1)  recruited at September each year (by headcount) 
			   Number 
			 2000 166 
			 2001 193 
			 2002 192 
			 2003 256 
			 2004 212 
			 2005 212 
			 2006 118 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent cancer consultants at September each year.
	
		
			  Number of cancer consultants( 1)  at September each year (by full-time equivalent) 
			   Number 
			 2000 3,183 
			 2001 3,331 
			 2002 3,569 
			 2003 3,787 
			 2004 4,005 
			 2005 4,246 
			 2006 4,389 
			 (1) The six main cancer specialists consist of clinical oncology, medical oncology, palliative medicine, haematology, histopathology and clinical radiology.  Source: Information Centre, Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Departmental Consultants

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contracts his Department has with external consultants; what the total value, including all VAT and disbursements, of these contracts are for the current financial year; how long each contract lasts; and what the forecast total value is of each contract.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect information on contracts with external consultants in the format requested. To do so would attract disproportionate cost.
	A new system will be introduced in April 2008 called SHOWA, which will be able to gather such information for the Department.

Departmental Managers

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the criteria are for determining the bonus payable to the Director General of the Commercial Directorate of his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 12 November 2007
	The criteria for determining performance pay and bonuses for senior civil servants will be set out in the Department's pay strategy. The pay strategy is prepared following the publication of the Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB), whose terms of reference include the remuneration of senior civil servants, and the Government's response to it. The SSRB is usually published in February each year. The Director General of the Commercial Directorate will become eligible to be considered for a bonus for the first time in April 2008 under criteria set in the 2008 pay strategy.

Digoxin

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recommendations have been made by his Department on  (a) the use of digoxin in the treatment of heart conditions and  (b) the monitoring of patients for whom it is prescribed.

Ann Keen: Digoxin is most often used in the treatment of heart failure or atrial fibrillation. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines on Chronic Heart Failure (CG5, July 2003) and the Management of Atrial Fibrillation (CG36, June 2006) which included advice on the use and monitoring of this medicine.

Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of table 18, referred to in his Department's evidence to the review body on doctors' and dentists' remuneration.

Ann Keen: The Health Department's written evidence to the review body on doctors' and dentists' remuneration has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_080117

Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will break down table 2.3 on page 16 of his Department's evidence to the review body on doctors' and dentists' remuneration by expenditure on each type of pressure in each financial year by programme; and how the 3 per cent. efficiency savings were calculated.

Ben Bradshaw: Revenue allocations are made directly to primary care trusts (PCTs), as it is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding to commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations. Table 2.3 in the Department's evidence to the review body on doctors' and dentists' remuneration provides a central estimate of national health service cost pressures. The cost of individual programmes will depend on local decisions on the implementation of NHS priorities.
	The Department needs to ensure that the best value is secured for the investment in the NHS. The requirement to make 3 per cent. year on year efficiency savings enables the Government to build on the Spending Review 2004 efficiency programme, and was considered to be achievable based on the value for money delivery plans that all Departments were required to submit as part of the current Comprehensive Spending Review.

Drugs: Eastern Region

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of patients treated on the NHS for drug addiction in  (a) the East of England and  (b) Suffolk emerged free of addiction after treatment in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not held centrally.

Health Services: Overseas Visitors

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of amending the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Charging Regulations 1989 to extend the period of absence disregarded when establishing residence from less than three months in the 12 months immediately preceding treatment to less than six months in the 12 months immediately preceding treatment.

Dawn Primarolo: We have not made an estimate of the cost of amending the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989 in the way described.

Hearing Aids: Waiting Lists

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for hearing aid assessments in  (a) Mid Essex and  (b) England in the last period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The average median waiting time for a diagnostic audiology assessment, including hearing assessment, is one week for the Mid Essex Primary Care NHS Trust. The average for England is 16 weeks.

Influenza: Eastern Region

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of pensioners in Suffolk received a free influenza vaccination in  (a) the East of England and  (b) Suffolk in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: This information has been placed in the Library.

Influenza: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the level of take-up by pensioners in London of influenza vaccinations in each of the last 12 years.

Dawn Primarolo: Flu vaccine uptake data were collected for the first time on those aged 65 and over from 2000. The percentage of those aged 65 and over who received a flu vaccine in each London primary care trust from 2000 is available in the Library.

Mentally Ill: Death

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of what percentage of deaths occurring in mental health institutions inquests were held in the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 13 November 2007
	This information is not collected by the Department.
	Deaths of patients who were detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 should be referred to Her Majesty's Coroner (HMC). HMC will hold an inquest where the medical cause of death remains in doubt after a post-mortem examination, or if the cause of death is violent or unnatural or where a death has occurred in such a place as to require an inquest under section 8 (1) of the Coroner's Act 1988.

Mentally Ill: Death

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to mental health trusts on  (a) procedures to be followed and  (b) inquiries to be made following deaths of patients held under mental health legislation.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 13 November 2007
	The Department issued guidance in 1994 Health Service Guidance (94) 27: "Guidance on the discharge of mentally disordered people and their continued care in the community" which details action to be taken following mental health in-patient deaths. This was followed by further guidance in 2005, "Independent investigation of adverse events in mental health services", which updated part of the 1994 guidance.
	This guidance requires strategic health authorities to commission independent investigations. This involves appointing the investigation team, agreeing terms of reference, publishing and distributing the results and agreeing a local action plan following a homicide committed by a person in touch with mental health services.
	The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness (NCISH) collects data on suicide and sudden unexpected deaths of in-patients and homicides committed by persons in touch with mental health services. NCISH is funded by the National Patient Safety Agency and published its latest report, "Avoidable Deaths", in December 2006. This reviews homicides in England and Wales between April 1999 and December 2003 and suicides from April 2000 to December 2004.
	The Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC) collects data on all detained patient deaths and publishes data on those from non-natural causes in its biennial report. MHAC, under its general remit to keep under review the operation of the Mental Health Act 1983, asks providers to notify it of all deaths of detained patients within three working days.
	MHAC reviews the deaths of patients who have died from non-natural causes to establish whether good practice, as defined in the Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice, has been followed and whether lessons for future practice and policy need to be learned. This review may include sending a Commissioner to the inquest which considers the circumstances of the death or arranging a visit to the hospital to consider the issues arising.

Methyl Methacrylate: Health Hazards

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of the use of methyl methacrylate in nail bars on health.

Dawn Primarolo: There has been no assessment of the effects of the use of methyl methacrylate in nail bars on health.

Midwives: Training

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average annual cost to public funds of training a student midwife was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The national benchmark price for pre-registration training for midwifery students in the financial year 2007-08 is £7,838 outside London, £8,230 in outer London and £8,465 for inner London.
	In addition to tuition costs, midwifery trainees are entitled to either a bursary or salary support funding. The average bursary paid for midwifery students in 2006-07 was £6,314.
	Students may be entitled to other payments such as allowances for dependant children and the cost of national health service employees seconded on to midwifery training programmes will include a proportion of their salary costs.

NHS Plus

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on recent developments in NHS Plus services for private sector employers.

Ivan Lewis: The Department is currently establishing five demonstration sites in England for innovative delivery of health and work services to private employers, in particular focusing on small and medium-sized businesses, by providing a £10 million capital fund. A further £10 million capital fund is available for an additional tranche of demonstration sites to enrich the developing good practice in this area. This will both bring benefits to the private sector in the areas in which the demonstration sites are located, and establish good practice from which others can learn.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which trusts are part of his Department's turnaround programme for organisations in particular financial difficulties; and how much funding has been allocated to pay for turnaround teams in 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no central turnaround programme in 2007-08. The Department, in conjunction with strategic health authorities, continues to apply best practice learnt from the turnaround programme in recent years and applies this through the usual performance management functions. No central funding has been set aside to pay for turnaround teams.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the multi-professional education and training levy allocated to strategic health authorities in 2006-07 was not spent on workforce development in  (a) cash terms and  (b) as a percentage of overall strategic health authority budgets, broken down by strategic health authority.

Ann Keen: The amounts of the multi-professional education and training (MPET) levy allocated to strategic health authorities (SHAs) in 2006-07 that was not spent on workforce development in cash terms and as a percentage of overall strategic health authority budgets, broken down by strategic health authority, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  SHAs  MPET Budget not spent on workforce in cash terms (£000)  MPET Budget not spent on workforce as a percentage of overall SNA resource budget 
			 North East 9,904 3.4 
			 North West 32,862 4.4 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 43,587 7.0 
			 East Midlands 21,602 5.3 
			 West Midlands 46,259 8.7 
			 East of England 32,137 6.8 
			 London 74,717 6.3 
			 South East Coast 27,154 8.1 
			 South Central 33,099 8.5 
			 South West 36,177 7.6 
			 Total 357,496 6.5

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the NHS surplus in 2006-07 was accounted for by lower than expected expenditure on items classed as non-cash or capital; and how much of the surplus was used to cover pay costs.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department did not expect the national health service to plan or manage its expenditure on a separate near cash and non-cash basis in 2006-07. Instead, the NHS was expected to live within overall expenditure limits and at least achieve financial balance. The net surplus of £515 million recorded in the audited accounts for 2006-07 represents a revenue surplus only, and is reported after full account was taken by the NHS for pay costs.

NHS: Management Consultants

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each NHS trust spent on external financial consultants in the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not held by the Department.

NHS: Manpower

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change in the number of NHS staff directly employed in the NHS he expects to result from the decrease in the percentage of NHS revenue spending being spent on the pay of such staff in 2008-09, as set out in table 2.4 on page 24 of his Department's evidence to the review body on doctors' and dentists' remuneration.

Ann Keen: The percentage of national health service revenue spending spent on pay is forecast to increase in 2008-09. This is a national estimate and it is a proportion of the overall growing NHS revenue funding, therefore overall expenditure on NHS staff is expected to increase.
	Revenue allocations are made to primary care trusts to provide them with funding to deliver local and national priorities. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the change in number of NHS staff employed, as workforce planning, and therefore setting the number of staff required to deliver services, is a matter for local NHS organisations to deal with. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and will recruit the appropriate number of staff to meet those needs. The Department sees workforce planning as a priority and closely monitors strategic health authority local delivery plans to ensure they will deliver the activity required within the finance envelope. As part of that approach, the Department also expects SHAs to be satisfied that local workforce plans are sufficiently robust to deliver the planned activity.

NHS: Procurement

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations he has included in the list of suppliers on the Framework for External Support in Commissioning.

Ben Bradshaw: The following suppliers have been appointed to the Framework for procuring External Support for Commissioners:
	Aetna Health Services (UK) Limited;
	AXA PPP Healthcare Administration Services Limited;
	BUPA Membership Commissioning Limited;
	CHKS Ltd, trading as Partners In Commissioning;
	Dr. Foster Limited, trading as Dr. Foster Intelligence;
	Health Dialog Services Corporation;
	Humana Europe, Ltd;
	KPMG LLP;
	McKesson Information Solutions UK Limited;
	McKinsey and Company, Inc. United Kingdom;
	Navigant Consulting, Inc;
	Tribal Consulting Limited;
	Unitedhealth Europe Limited; and
	WG Consulting Healthcare Limited, trading as WG Consulting.

NHS: Vacancies

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition of a vacancy he uses in relation to the NHS workforce.

Ann Keen: The annual national health service vacancy survey collects information at the end of March on vacancies which trusts are finding hard to fill.
	The Information Centre who publish the vacancy survey define a vacancy as
	'one which has lasted three months or more and which employers are actively trying to fill as at 31 March.'
	The emphasis is therefore on vacancies which trusts are finding hard to fill, rather than on normal staff turnover.

Pharmacy: Hampshire

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what dispensing pharmacies there are in Hampshire; and what volume of products each dispensed in each of the past five years.

Dawn Primarolo: A list of pharmacies under contract to Hampshire Primary Care Trust, Portsmouth City PCT and Southampton City PCT at the end of the 2006-07 financial year has been placed in the Library.
	It is not appropriate to give the number of items dispensed by each pharmacist as these figures are commercially sensitive. The following table provides information on the monthly average number of items for each Primary Care Trust in Hampshire for each financial year.
	
		
			   Average prescription items dispensed per month (thousand) 
			  Primary Care Trust  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04  2002-03 
			 Blackwater Valley and Hart 149 142 137 131 
			 East Hampshire 183 172 166 158 
			 Eastleigh and Test Valley South 146 138 132 122 
			 Fareham and Gosport 195 184 176 168 
			 Mid-Hampshire 120 115 113 108 
			 New Forest 221 210 201 191 
			 North Hampshire 182 154 156 150 
			 Portsmouth City 189 185 184 179 
			  Teaching 
			 Southampton City 222 209 214 211 
			 Total 1,607 1,509 1,479 1,418

Primary Care Trusts: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was top-sliced from primary care trusts in 2006-07, broken down by trust; how much of these top-sliced funds have so far been paid back, broken down by trust; and by what date these funds will be fully paid back to primary care trusts.

Ben Bradshaw: Figures showing the value of primary care trust top-slice, and the amount returned by strategic health authorities (SHAs) in 2006-07, have been placed in the Library.
	It is for each SHA to manage both the timing and method for repaying contributions made by their PCTs within a reasonable period, not usually exceeding the three-year allocation cycle, and depending on overall affordability within the SHA economy. SHAs should consider the position of PCTs with the greatest health need first.

Primary Care Trusts: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much is being top-sliced from primary care trusts in 2007-08, broken down by trust.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department made clear in the national health service operating framework for 2007-08 that strategic health authorities (SHAs) will not generally need to top-slice primary care trust (PCT) revenue allocations to the same level as in 2006-07 because of the substantial improvement in the overall financial position of the NHS. However, for 2007-08 a number of PCTs have chosen to lodge resources with their SHA to be included within the SHA's strategic investment fund as a safeguard against any risk associated with the lower financial settlement over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	The data showing the value of PCT lodgements in their respective SHA's strategic investment fund have been placed in the Library.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of each sexually transmitted disease were diagnosed in the South Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust area in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in genito-urinary clinics (GUM) is only available by strategic health authority (SHA). The total number of STIs diagnosed in the East of England SHA since 2004 to 2006, the latest date for which figures are available, which includes West Hertfordshire and North East Hertfordshire Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) area, is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Infection  2004  2005  2006 
			 Primary and secondary syphilis 88 82 80 
			 Uncomplicated gonorrhoea 1,223 947 838 
			 Anogenital herpes - first attack 1,518 1,580 1,731 
			 Anogenital warts - first attack 6,588 6,796 6,729 
			 Uncomplicated chlamydia 8,031 8,369 8,300 
			  Source: Health Protection Agency, KC60 returns 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of new STIs and other STIs diagnosed in the East of England SHA (2004-2006) 
			   2004  2005  2006 
			 Total number of new STI diagnoses(1) 29,878 29,858 30,242 
			 Total number of other STI diagnoses(2) 18,018 19,865 20,980 
			 (1) Includes those defined in table 1 and all others. (2) Includes recurrent and follow-up presentations.  Notes: 1. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are for diagnoses made in GUM clinics only. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as general practice, are not recorded in the KC60 dataset. 2. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. For example, individuals may be diagnosed with several co-infections and each diagnosis will be counted separately. 3. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data.  Source: Health Protection Agency, KC60 returns 
		
	
	In addition to diagnoses made in GUM clinics, the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) has been running since 2003. The number of people diagnosed with chlamydia within the programme in the East of England SHA broken down by individual PCTs are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  PCT  2004-07 
			 Bedfordshire 192 
			 Cambridgeshire 70 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 22 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney 78 
			 Luton 222 
			 Mid Essex 11 
			 Norfolk 377 
			 North East Essex 7 
			 Peterborough 33 
			 South East Essex 529 
			 South West Essex 43 
			 Suffolk 574 
			 West Essex 20 
			 West Hertfordshire 18 
			  Notes: 1. The data from the NCSP are for diagnoses made outside of GUM clinics only and include diagnoses made by the Boots pathfinder project. 2. The data available from the NCSP are the number of diagnoses made and not the number of patients diagnosed. 3. The data only include those aged 15-24, who have provided a postcode of residence. 4. The data are specific to the following years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, since the NCSP follows the financial year.  Source: The NCSP

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people between the ages of 16 and 18 years have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease in the South Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust area in the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in genitourinary clinics (GUM) is only available by strategic health authority (SHA). The total number of STIs between the ages of 16 and 19 years of age diagnosed in the East of England SHA since 2004 to 2006, the latest date for which figures are available, which includes West Hertfordshire and North East Hertfordshire Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) area, is given in the table.
	
		
			  Infection  2004  2005  2006 
			 Primary and secondary syphilis 6 6 2 
			 Uncomplicated gonorrhoea 276 190 166 
			 Anogenital herpes - first attack 213 228 279 
			 Anogenital warts - first attack 1,189 1,183 1,308 
			 Uncomplicated chlamydia 2,219 2,321 2,111 
			  Notes: 1. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are for diagnoses made in GUM clinics only. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as general practice, are not recorded in the KC60 dataset. 2. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. For example, individuals may be diagnosed with several co-infections and each diagnosis will be counted separately. 3. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data. 4. Data are not collected for the age range 16-18.   Source: Health Protection Agency, KC60 returns 
		
	
	In addition to diagnoses made in GUM clinics, the National Chlamydia Screening Programme has been running since 2003. The number of people diagnosed with chlamydia within the programme in the East of England SHA broken down by individual PCTs is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Primary Care Trust  2004-2007 
			 Bedfordshire 75 
			 Cambridgeshire 30 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 5 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney 41 
			 Luton 84 
			 Mid Essex (1)— 
			 Norfolk 143 
			 Peterborough 17 
			 South East Essex 214 
			 South West Essex 18 
			 Suffolk 284 
			 West Essex (1)— 
			 West Hertfordshire 5 
			 (1) Cell size of 1 to 4 have been masked to protect deductive disclosure in accordance with ONS guidelines.  Notes: 1. The data from the NCSP are for diagnoses made outside of GUM clinics only and include diagnoses made by the Boots pathfinder project. 2. The data available from the NCSP are the number of diagnoses made and not the number of patients diagnosed. 3. The data only include those aged 16-18, who have provided a postcode of residence. 4. The data are specific to the following years 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, since the NCSP follows the financial year.  Source: The National Chlamydia Screening Programme.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Foreign Workers

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many locally engaged staff are employed by his Department in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: The total number of locally engaged staff directly employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Afghanistan is 72 (comprising 58 in Kabul and 14 in Lashkar Gah).

Afghanistan: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department's personnel are in each province of Afghanistan; what role they are playing in each province; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UK employs a broad range of staff in support of the Government of Afghanistan to help develop a stable and secure Afghanistan. Over one hundred civilian staff in Kabul and over thirty staff in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar are employed from across the Government, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Afghanistan drugs inter-departmental unit. Their roles include work in governance, reconstruction and development, and counter-narcotics.

Afghanistan: Peace Negotiations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds the UK has provided to the Afghan reconciliation programme, Programme Takhim-e-Solh; and if he will make a statement on the operation of the programme.

Kim Howells: The UK supports President Karzai's efforts to bring disaffected Afghans into society's mainstream, providing they renounce violence and accept Afghanistan's constitution. In this context, the UK spent just under the allocated £500,000 in support of the Program Takhim-e-Solh programme in Afghanistan in the last financial year (2006-07). The UK has allocated a further £330,000 in the current financial year.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on whether a co-ordinator to head international reconstruction and development work in Afghanistan at the UN Security Council should be appointed; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Tom Koenigs is the current special representative to the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan. His remit covers co-ordination of international reconstruction and development work. His contract extends to February 2008 and we, with other UN member states, are discussing a suitable successor.
	The UN's role in co-ordinating the international effort in Afghanistan is very important. The UK is committed to supporting the UN effort, led by a senior UN representative for the long term.

Afghanistan: United Nations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the replacement of the UN representative in Afghanistan; what discussions he has had with his Security Council counterparts on this issue; when he expects the replacement to be announced; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Tom Koenigs is the current special representative to the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan. His contract extends to February 2008.
	The UN's role in co-ordinating the international effort in Afghanistan is very important. The UK is committed to supporting the UN effort to improve the current levels of international co-ordination, led by a senior UN representative for the long term. We discuss this with our Security Council counterparts on a regular basis. However, the decision on a replacement is ultimately the decision of the Secretary-General.

Asma Jahangir

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will intervene in the case of Asma Jahangir, who is in prison in Pakistan.

Kim Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to him today (UIN 163937).

Bosnia: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the UN/EU High Representative's decision to improve the functioning of state institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and of the effect this decision has had on political stability in the country.

David Miliband: We fully support High Representative Lajcak and his efforts to improve the functioning of state institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The measures he took on 19 October are designed to improve the Council of Ministers' ability to take decisions and will make it harder for representatives to obstruct the working of Parliament through absenteeism. The measures are fully in line with the constitution and do not target any constituent people. We are urging political representatives from all sides in BiH to accept Lajcak's measures.

Bosnia: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conclusions of the Peace Implementation Council on 31 October on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

David Miliband: The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) steering board meeting of 30-31 October expressed concern over the continued deterioration of the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It judged that responsibility lay with political leaders from both entities who have blocked progress and undermined the political situation with their aggressive rhetoric. The statement expressed full support for completing implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, including efforts to tackle the evident dysfunctionality of state institutions. We were disappointed that Russia chose to dissent over one paragraph, but overall we judge the PIC conclusions to be a strong signal of support for High Representative Lajcak.

Bosnia: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in  (a) the EU and  (b) the US on the political situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

David Miliband: We have been in close contact with our EU and US counterparts over the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), including through the Contact Group, the EU and the Peace Implementation Council (PIC). Members of all of these groups share our concern over the deteriorating political situation in BiH and the failure of the country's leaders to make progress on key reforms. This concern was underlined in the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council conclusions of 15 October and the PIC statement of 30-31 October. We continue to stay in regular contact with relevant international actors including our EU and US partners.

British Council: Vetting

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the British Council's policy is on conducting Criminal Records Bureau checks on  (a) its employees and  (b) people working on its behalf.

Jim Murphy: The British Council's policy on conducting Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks complies fully with UK law. The British Council has in place a comprehensive child protection policy which all British Council staff and outside consultants or contractors whose responsibilities involve access to children and young people must adhere to.
	 Its employees
	Since the early 1990s, the British Council has asked all newly recruited teachers to sign a child declaration form indicating that they have had no history or background relating to child protection issues that would preclude them from the British Council's employment.
	From January 2005, the British Council has implemented CRB checks on all staff working in the UK whose jobs involve contact with children.
	From January 2007, the British Council has run CRB checks on all teachers recruited in the UK, through its headquarters to work overseas. Where teachers are recruited directly by overseas teaching centres, similar checks are run when available in the relevant country. This is available in six of the 48 countries in which the British Council have teaching centres. Where no CRB equivalent exists, the British Council will seek information on individuals in their references.
	In addition, the British Council is conducting retrospective CRB checks on all teachers where these have not already been carried out. The British Council expects to complete checks on all teachers:
	that have lived or worked in the UK by the end of 2007;
	that have lived or worked in countries with CRB equivalents by mid-2008; and
	in the remaining 42 countries where no CRB equivalent exists, where at all possible, by the end of 2008.
	 People working on its behalf
	Employment agencies providing the British Council with temporary staff, and companies providing support services, must confirm that their own recruitment practices are consistent with the British Council's child protection policy. For consultants and other temporary staff working in posts designated as having direct contact with children and young people, the British Council must receive confirmation that the individuals concerned have undergone due checks.

Chechnya: Politics and Government

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the changes to the constitution proposed in the forthcoming referendum in Chechnya, Russia; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We continue to watch developments closely as Chechnya, and the rest of the north Caucasus, remain fragile and vulnerable to human rights violations. We believe that the best guarantee of political stability is for the federal and local authorities to work together in the republic to improve the democratic accountability of government structures, and to address the social and economic needs of the population.

Departmental Standards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to publish his Department's autumn performance report.

Meg Munn: HM Treasury asked Departments to publish their autumn performance reports (APRs) between 1 November and 15 December 2007. We expect to publish the Foreign and Commonwealth Office APR during this window. The Treasury Public Expenditure Survey guidance note of 16 August 2007 commissioning the APRs is available at:
	http://hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/F/D/pes_2007_12.pdf.

Departments: Disabled

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 30 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1316W, what reasonable adjustments the Department has made in accordance with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, broken down by building; what each such adjustment cost; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has carried out all the reasonable adjustments to our UK premises identified as required to meet the needs of the disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995. However, given that the many individual adjustments formed part of general programmes of building upkeep, and that 19 years has elapsed since the Act was passed, the level of detail requested by the hon. Member could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The whole of the FCO's UK estate has been assessed for ease of accessibility in relation to disabled users. The assessments recommended a number of reasonable adjustments, which have been carried out over the last 12 years. These include voice announcements and Braille/raised buttons in lifts, converting goods elevators to passenger use, installing wheelchair lifts, providing portable ramps, stairwalkers and evacuation chairs. We have moved kitchen equipment and lowered counter tops in tea points where necessary and provided vibrating pagers linked to fire alarm systems or security guards. Other examples of changes made include specialist furniture, new signage, replacement floor surfaces for easier access and contrasting strips on step edges, and adjusting working hours of disabled staff.
	Overseas, posts are aware of the principles of the DDA and have been instructed to review disabled access, make information about accessibility available, and where possible make improvements. Where access is limited, posts seek alternative ways of providing accessible services.
	We work closely with the FCO disabled persons' representatives and when local circumstances change we conduct further assessments.

EU-African Union Summit

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what decisions have been made about the level at which the UK will be represented at the EU-African Union summit; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: No final decision has been made on the level of UK attendance at the EU-Africa summit. But my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been clear that neither he nor any senior UK Government Minister will attend the summit if President Mugabe is present.

Iraq: Detainees

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) Iraqis and  (b) non-Iraqis remain in British custody in Iraq; what arrangements have been made for the handover of these detainees to the Iraqi authorities; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK currently holds 36 detainees at the divisional internment facility at Basra air station, all of whom are Iraqi nationals.
	The UK detains individuals in Iraq for imperative reasons of security under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1723 (2006). It is a power we use sparingly and we take our responsibilities to our detainees seriously. Where possible, we seek to release individuals or transfer their cases to the Iraqi justice system. The UK has obtained assurances from the government of Iraq to ensure that anyone transferred from UK to Iraqi custody will be treated in accordance with basic international human rights principles.

Kosovo: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the progress being made in negotiations on the final status of Kosovo.

David Miliband: The UK fully supports the work of the EU-Russia-US Troika aimed at reaching agreement between Belgrade and Pristina on Kosovo's future status. The process will be concluded by the Contact Group reporting to the UN Secretary-General by 10 December.
	So far there have been four rounds of face-to-face talks between the parties. The last round took place in Vienna on 5 November. A further round is scheduled to take place on 20 November.
	We share the UN Secretary-General's view that the status quo in Kosovo is unsustainable. We see an early resolution of Kosovo's status as crucial to the stability and security of the Balkans and Europe as a whole.

Law Making

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on implementing the European Inter-institutional Agreement on better law making 2003, with particular reference to measure 34 on the creation and publication of transposition tables; whether a transposition co-ordinator has been appointed; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
	Significant progress has been made embedding use of impact assessment in the policy-making process and in simplifying existing EU legislation. In particular, the European Council in March 2007 endorsed a Commission proposal to set a target to reduce administrative burdens arising from EU law by 25 per cent. by 2012. As far as paragraph 34 is concerned, a transposition coordinator has been appointed in the Cabinet Office European Secretariat. New guidance for officials on transposition was published in September; this explains how officials can use the transposition notes they provide to Parliament as transposition tables for the European Commission. All transposition notes are published at the Office of Public Sector Information website,
	www.opsi.gov.uk

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial and logistical resources the European Union is providing to the Quartet's special envoy Mr. Blair; what  (a) salary,  (b) expenses provision and  (c) support staff will be available to him; what share of the costs the United Kingdom is contributing; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Mr. Blair is not paid a salary in his role as Quartet Representative. The UK has provided £400,000 to a United Nations Development Programme Trust Fund which provides operational and technical support to Mr. Blair's office in Jerusalem. The UK has also seconded four staff to his team. Other international donors are also supporting his work.
	We strongly support the work of Mr. Blair. He is well placed to drive forward Palestinian capacity building, which is a clear priority.

Pakistan: Detainees

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to urge the Pakistani authorities to release all non-violent democracy and human rights activists recently arrested, including the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief, Ms Asma Jahangir, and the Director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Mr. I. A. Rehman.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made clear in a statement to the House on 7 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 130-32, that we condemn the mass detentions of politicians, lawyers and human rights activists, and call for their immediate release. It is vital that the Government of Pakistan act quickly to restore the constitution, hold free and fair elections on schedule, honour the president's commitment to step down as army chief and lift restrictions on the media.
	Our high commission in Islamabad has raised our concern at the highest levels for the welfare and safety of Asma Jahangir, head of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission and UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, I. A. Rehman and all those in detention. Close attention is being paid to their treatment and preparations are under way both bilaterally, and through the EU, to visit or contact as many as possible.
	In parallel, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, met Hina Jilani (Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders) on 8 November to discuss the current situation in Pakistan. They expressed concern about the hundreds of political detainees in Pakistan, including Hina Jilani's sister, Asma Jahangir.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to raise the current political and security situation in Pakistan at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Uganda.

Kim Howells: The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) met in London on 12 November to discuss the situation in Pakistan, and issued a Statement. The Statement is available on the Commonwealth's website at:
	http://www.thecommonwealth.org/.
	My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, represented the UK at the meeting.
	The situation will be discussed further when CMAG meets on 22 November in Kampala, immediately prior to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the number of Pakistani citizens who have been detained by the authorities in Pakistan under the state of emergency.

Kim Howells: It is not possible to put a figure on the number of people detained following the declaration of the state of emergency. There are various estimates ranging from a few hundred to several thousand. The situation is very fluid. Some of the detainees have been released.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear in a statement to the House on 7 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 130-132 that we condemn the mass detentions of politicians, lawyers and human rights activists, and call for their immediate release. It is vital that the Government of Pakistan act quickly to restore the constitution, hold free and fair elections on schedule, honour the President's commitment to step down as army chief and lift restrictions on the media.
	Our high commission in Islamabad has raised its concern for the welfare and safety of all those in detention at the highest levels. Close attention is being paid to their treatment and preparations are under way to visit or contact as many as possible.

Parvaiz Aslam Chaudhry

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make representations to the Palestinian authority in the case of Parvaiz Aslam Chaudhry recently arrested in Pakistan.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear in a statement to the House on 7 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 130-32, that we condemn the mass detentions of politicians, lawyers and human rights activists, and call for their immediate release. It is vital that the Government of Pakistan act quickly to restore the constitution, hold free and fair elections on schedule, honour the President's commitment to step down as army chief and lift restrictions on the media.
	Our high commission in Islamabad has raised its concern at the highest levels for the welfare and safety of Parvaiz Aslam Chaudhry and all those in detention. Close attention is being paid to their treatment and preparations are under way, both bilaterally and through the EU, to visit or contact as many as possible

Wael al-Haj Ibrahim

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made or plans to make to the Government of Sudan on the recent expulsion of the head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in South Darfur, Mr. Wael al-Haj Ibrahim; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The UK shares international concerns at the expulsion of the Head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in South Darfur on 7 November and fully supports UN efforts to resolve the case. The UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Humanitarian Co-ordinator told the Government of Sudan on 10 November that the expulsion contravened the letter and spirit of the Joint Communiqué of 28 March 2007, which undertakes to remove bureaucratic impediments to humanitarian agencies.
	The UK and UN are pressing the Government of Sudan to comply with the commitments made to the international community, including through the High Level Committee, which monitors the implementation of the Joint Communiqué. The UK is due to assume an observer seat on the Committee.

Zimbabwe

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to raise issues relating to Zimbabwe at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Uganda; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: As Zimbabwe is no longer a member of the Commonwealth, it will not be on the formal agenda of the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It is likely however to be discussed in the margins of the meeting.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departmental Consultants

Charles Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what contracts his Department has with external consultants; what the total value, including all VAT and disbursements, of these contracts are for the current financial year; how long each contract lasts; and what the forecast total value is of each contract.

Edward Miliband: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and may not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the sponsoring firm is of each external consultant working in his Department.

Edward Miliband: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and may not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental NDPBs

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the  (a) budget and  (b) remit is of each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department; who the chairman is of each; and to what salary, including bonuses and expenses, each chairman is entitled.

Edward Miliband: The information requested is currently being collated to be published as part of the 2007 Public Appointments Plan in due course. The latest published information is available in the directory "Public Bodies 2006"
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/documents/pdf/public_bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf
	Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

European Union

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what items of EU branded material were purchased by his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Edward Miliband: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and may not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Strategy Unit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what projects are being undertaken by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit.

Edward Miliband: The Strategy Unit's work programme falls into two broad parts:
	 (a) standing teams covering core policy areas including education; health; home affairs; and public service improvement.
	 (b) a small number of time-limited projects covering cross-cutting issues such as childhood and food policy.

TREASURY

Bank Melli

William Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps will have to be taken by the UK in response to the 25 October designation of Bank Melli and its branches and subsidiaries by the United States in relation to proliferation activities and support for terrorism.

Kitty Ussher: The United States sanctions of 25 October against Iranian individuals and entities are domestic measures that are not part of UK law.
	The UK takes seriously the risks to the financial system posed by Iran's lack of a comprehensive anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance (AML/CTF) system. At the recent meeting of the financial action task force, the international standard setting body currently chaired by the UK, FATF members issued a public statement to express concerns that Iran represents a significant vulnerability within the international financial system. FATF members are advising their financial institutions to take the risk arising from deficiencies in Iran's AML/CTF regime into account for enhanced due diligence. The Treasury has issued guidance to this effect to financial institutions in the UK.

Banks: Iran

William Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the implications are for Iranian banks based in the UK of the designation of Iranian entities and individuals for proliferation activities and support for terrorism by the United States on 25 October.

Kitty Ussher: The United States sanctions of 25 October against Iranian individuals and entities are domestic measures and are not therefore part of UK law.
	As the United States Department of the Treasury said in its press statement of 25 October, as a result of the measures all transactions involving any of the designees and any US person will be prohibited and any assets the designees may have under US jurisdiction will be frozen.

Cancer

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many cases of ovarian cancer were  (a) diagnosed and  (b) cured in (i) Gateshead and (ii) Sunderland in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many cases of breast cancer were  (a) diagnosed and  (b) cured in (i) Gateshead and (ii) Sunderland in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 15 November 2007
	and how many cases of breast cancer were  (a) diagnosed and  (b) cured in (i) Gateshead and (ii) Sunderland in each of the last 10 years [163359].
	Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancers registered in the Gateshead and Sunderland local authorities between 1995 and 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are given in Table 1.
	Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancers registered in the Gateshead and Sunderland local authorities between 1995 and 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are given in Table 2.
	It is not possible to say whether or not patients are cured. For most cancers, but not breast, five-year survival rates are often taken to be 'cure' rates.
	Survival rates by local authority are not available, but one and five year survival for eight common cancers including breast cancer by strategic health authority and Government Office region, for patients diagnosed in 1997-99 and followed up to 31 December 2004, are available on the National Statistics website at
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=11991&Pos=9&ColRank=1&Rank=272
	The breast cancer figures are given in Table 3 for the North East.
	Long-term breast cancer survival rates for Government Office regions, up to 2003 are available on the National Statistics website at
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14172&More=n
	and are given in Table 4 for the North East.
	
		
			  Table 1. Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer( 1)  registered in Gateshead and Sunderland local authorities: females, 1995 to 2004 
			   1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Gateshead 26 28 19 19 26 20 24 21 17 18 
			 Sunderland 26 46 21 40 35 40 20 35 39 30 
			 (1) Ovarian cancer is defined by codes C56 and C57 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  Source:  Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2. Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer( 1)  registered in Gateshead and Sunderland local authorities: females, 1995 to 2004 
			   1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Gateshead 123 148 129 142 148 150 128 146 166 166 
			 Sunderland 132 170 189 178 160 189 179 209 195 249 
			 (1) Breast cancer is defined by code C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10)  Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3. Five-year age-standardised relative survival (percentage) from breast cancer in women( 1)  aged 15-99 for the North East 
			 Patients diagnosed in 1997-99 and followed up to 31-12-04  
			 North East Government Office Region 77 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 77 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 78 
			   
			 Patients diagnosed in 1996-98 and followed up to 31-12-03  
			 North East Government Office Region 74 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 72 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 76 
			   
			 Patients diagnosed in 1995-97 and followed up to 31-12-02  
			 North East Government Office Region 68 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 65 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 72 
			   
			 Patients diagnosed in 1994-96 and followed up to 31-12-01  
			 North East Government Office Region 69 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 67 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 72 
			 (1) All female (15-99 years) residents who were diagnosed with breast cancer that was their first, primary, invasive malignant neoplasm were eligible for analysis.  Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4. Breast Cancer - Predicted long-term relative survival( 1 ) (percentage) for the North East Government Office region: women aged 15-99 years at diagnosis (age-standardised( 2) ) 
			Duration of survival (percentage) 
			One year  Five years  10 years  15 years 
			 ( 3) Women ( 4) Deaths 
			 13,272 1,918 94 80 69 66 
			 (1) Period approach (2001-03)  (2) Age-standardisation with age-specific weights given by the proportions of women diagnosed with breast cancer in England and Wales during 1986-90 in each of six age groups (15-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80-99 years). (3) Number of women included in the analyses. (4) Number of deaths occurring among these women during the stated period.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Child Benefit

Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of recipients of child benefit draw it from post offices  (a) nationally and  (b) in Oxfordshire.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 14 November 2007
	Around 8 per cent. of all child benefit recipients were paid using a Post Office Card Account (POCA) at August 2007.
	Sub-national estimates are not yet available for August 2007. At August 2006 around 5 per cent. of customers in Oxfordshire were paid using a POCA account.

Clostridium: Elderly

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people over the age of 85 died from  (a) clostridium difficile and  (b) MRSA infections in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 November 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people over the age of 85 died from  (a) Clostridium difficile and  (b) MRSA infections in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (165334)
	Special analyses of deaths involving MRSA and Clostridium difficile are undertaken annually by ONS for England and Wales. These are published in Health Statistics Quarterly. The latest year for which such figures are available is 2005.
	The data requested are presented in the table below.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths certificates in England and Wales where (1) Clostridium difficile( 1)  and (2) MRSA( 2)  were (a) mentioned and (b) recorded as the underlying cause of death( 2)  for persons aged 85 and over, 1997-2005( 3,4) 
			   (1) Clostridium difficile  (2) MRSA 
			   (a) Mentions  (b) Underlying Cause  (a) Mentions  (b) Underlying Cause 
			 1997 (5)Not available (5)Not available 104 27 
			 1998 (5)Not available (5)Not available 104 33 
			 1999 439 259 133 35 
			 2000 (5)Not available (5)Not available 175 50 
			 2001 592 359 204 86 
			 2002 677 389 204 80 
			 2003 890 506 281 103 
			 2004 1,072 634 343 128 
			 2005 1,847 1,056 511 184 
			 (1) Identified using the methodology described in Office for National Statistics (2005) Report: Deaths involving  Clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 1999-2004. "Health Statistics Quarterly" 30, 56-60. (1) Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22. (2) Excludes neonatal deaths. (3) Clostridium difficile: Deaths registered in 1999, deaths occurring in 2001-05. (4) MRSA: Deaths occurring in each year. (5) All deaths in England and Wales are coded by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The Tenth revision (ICD-10) has been used by the ONS since 2001. In the Ninth revision of the ICD (ICD-9) there are no specific codes that would allow deaths mentioning  Clostridium difficile to be easily identified. Identifying these deaths in ICD-9 would require extensive text searching of a very large number of death certificates. This could only be done at disproportionate cost. Data for 1997, 1998 and 2000 are therefore not available as ICD-9 was used in these years. Deaths registered in 1999 in England and Wales were coded to both ICD-9 and ICD-10 as part of a special study to compare the two ICD revisions, and have therefore been used to give an additional year of data on deaths involving  C. diff. Data is available for MRSA in both ICD-9 and ICD-10.

Colorectal Cancer: Death

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people died from bowel cancer in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 November 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people died from bowel cancer in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.1 am replying in her absence. (165218)
	The table attached provides the numbers of deaths where bowel cancer was the underlying cause of death in (a) Jarrow parliamentary constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority, (c) North East government office region and (d) the UK from 1997 to 2006 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths where bowel cancer was the underlying cause of death( 1)  Jarrow parliamentary constituency. South Tyneside local authority. North East Government Office Region, and UK, 1997-2006( 2, 3, 4) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  UK 
			 1997 36 61 860 17,308 
			 1998 25 58 819 17,047 
			 1999 26 50 761 16,651 
			 2000 34 62 817 16,238 
			 2001 38 57 818 16,195 
			 2002 25 45 770 16,236 
			 2003 33 47 762 16,159 
			 2004 18 59 745 16,151 
			 2005 21 51 799 16,117 
			 2006 31 47 717 15,994 
			 (1) Cause of death for bowel cancer was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 153-154 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C18-C21. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from this cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (2) Based on parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries as of 2007. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (4) Figures include data provided by the Registrars General for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The 2006 figures provided by the Registrar General for Northern Ireland are provisional.

Departmental NDPBs

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) budget and  (b) remit is of each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department; who the chairman is of each; and to what salary, including bonuses and expenses, each chairman is entitled.

Angela Eagle: The annual budget for the Statistics Commission, the Treasury's only NDPB, is £1.35 million. Its remit is "to help ensure that National Statistics are trustworthy and responsive to public needs". The Commission's chairman is Professor David Rhind who is paid £28,000 a year for 60 days work. He receives no bonus but can claim expenses to cover costs incurred while on Commission business.

Foreign Workers: Eastern Region

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people who have entered the UK in the last 10 years are included in the figures for employment in  (a) the East of England and  (b) Suffolk.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 November 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of people who entered the UK in the last ten years are included in the figures for employment in (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk. I am replying in her absence. (162588)
	The table attached gives the number of people resident of working age in East of England and Suffolk who entered the UK in the last ten years; and of those who are in employment for the three months ending June 2007.
	When interpreting these figures, it is important to bear in mind that the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is not designed to cover everyone who is present in the UK. The survey may undercount the numbers of people who were born overseas. The reasons are set out in the table footnote.
	The LFS estimates at this detailed level are only consistent with the UK population estimates published in February and March 2003 and they do not incorporate the more recent population estimates that are used in the headline labour market series.
	The data for analysing migrant workers comes from the LFS. The National Statistics method for estimating the number of migrant workers employed in the UK is routinely based on the number of people at a given time who were born abroad, are of working age (16-64 for men, 16-59 for women), and in employment. This question has been answered on this basis.
	Estimates are taken from the LFS; as with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  People of working age( 1)  who were born overseas and came to the UK in the last 10 years, living in Suffolk and East of England, and in employment, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand 
			  Three months ending June 2007  Total foreign born population  In employment  Employment rates( 2) 
			 Suffolk 24 21 84.9 
			 East of England 219 160 72.9 
			 (1) Includes men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59. (2) In employment as a percentage of total population.  Notes: It should also be noted that the country of birth question in the LFS is an undercount because: it excludes those who have not been resident in the UK for 6 months. it excludes students in halls who do not have a UK resident parent. it excludes people in most other types of communal establishments (eg hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites, etc). it is grossed to population estimates that only include migrants staying for 12 months or more. microdata is only grossed to population estimates consistent with those published in spring 2003 which are significantly lower than the latest population estimates.  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Government Buildings: Access

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 889W, which buildings occupied by his Department  (a) are and  (b) are not considered main areas of the Treasury; and which buildings not considered main areas are not fully accessible to disabled people.

Angela Eagle: The term "main areas" referred to in the answer given on 29 October excluded the non-public areas such as plant rooms, roofs and other maintenance areas within the Treasury buildings where access may be restricted because of the configuration of machinery and plant, low ceiling heights, etc.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated extra annual revenue to the Exchequer would be if income tax were levied at  (a) 50 per cent. on incomes over £100,000,  (b) 60 per cent. on incomes over £250,000 and  (c) 70 per cent. on incomes over £500,000; and how many people would be subject to each of these tax rates.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 14 November 2007
	Estimates of the information requested can be found as follows.
	
		
			  Income bands (£)  Tax band (%)  Extra revenue (£ billion)  Number of individuals affected (thousand) 
			 100,000-250,000 50 3.6 420 
			 250,000-500,000 60 2.6 70 
			 500,000 + 70 5.0 30 
			 All — 11.2 420 
		
	
	These estimates are based on the 2004-05 Survey of Personal Incomes projected forward to 2007-08 using pre-Budget 2007 assumptions and include Budget 2007 changes. These figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response which could be significant given the scale of the change.

Migrant Workers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many self-employed Romanian and Bulgarian migrant workers there are in the UK.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 15 November 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of self-employed Romanian and Bulgarian migrant workers who are currently employed in the United Kingdom. (163167)
	The attached table gives the estimated number of self-employed Romanian and Bulgarian people of working age for April to June 2007.
	The data for analysing migrant workers comes from the Labour Force Survey. The National Statistics preferred method for estimating the number of migrant workers employed in the UK is based on the number of people at a given time who were born abroad, are of working age (16-64 for men, 16-59 for women), and in employment. This is the basis on which this PQ has been answered.
	When interpreting the figures in the table, it is important to bear in mind that the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is not designed to cover everyone who is present in the UK. The survey may undercount the numbers of people who were born overseas, a detailed breakdown of the reasons are set out in the table footnote.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Number of working age( 1)  Romanian and Bulgarian self-employed workers, April to June 2007, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousand 
			  Country of birth  Self-employed  Total in employment 
			 Bulgaria 7 13 
			 Romania 7 18 
			 (1) Men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.  Note: It should be noted that the above estimates: exclude those who have been resident in the UK for less than 6 months exclude students in halls of residence who do not have a UK resident parent exclude people in most types of communal establishment (eg hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc) are grossed to population estimates that only include migrants staying 12 months or more are grossed to population estimates consistent with those published in spring 2003 which are significantly lower than the latest population estimates as used in the Labour Market Statistics monthly First Release.  Source: Labour Force Survey

Migrant Workers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many skilled public sector jobs have been filled by Romanian and Bulgarian migrant workers since the accession of their countries to the EU.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 November 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many skilled public sector jobs have been filled by Romanian and Bulgarian migrant workers since the accession of their countries to the EU. I am replying in her absence. (163168)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS) provide estimates of the number of public sector employees by occupation, country of birth and nationality, at a given time. However, the LFS and APS samples are too small to provide the information requested.

Public Sector: Manpower

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of public sector employees in the UK have been  (a) British-born UK nationals,  (b) overseas-born UK nationals,  (c) nationals of other EU member states and  (d) nationals of countries outside the EU in each year since 1996.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 November 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the proportion of public sector employees in the UK who are a) British-born UK nationals, b) Overseas-born UK nationals, c) nationals of other EU member states and d) nationals of countries outside the EU in each year since 1996. I am replying in her absence. (162052)
	The attached table gives the proportion of public sector employees in the categories requested for the three month period ending June each year, from 1997 to 2007. Comparable estimates are not available for 1996, 1998 and 2000.
	The data for analysing migrant workers come from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The National Statistics method for estimating the number of migrant workers employed in the UK is routinely based on the number of people at a given time who were born abroad, are of working age (16-64 for men, 16-59 for women), and in employment. However, you have requested data based on foreign nationality and this is the basis on which this question has been answered.
	When interpreting the figures in the table, it is important to bear in mind that the LFS is not designed to cover everyone who is present in the UK. The survey may undercount the numbers of people who were born overseas, for the reasons which are set out in the table footnotes. It should also be noted that the categorisation of employment in the public sector is based on individual responses in LFS interviews which often do not correspond to the National Accounts definition of public sector employment.
	As reported by ONS in an article, "Characteristics of Pubic Sector Workers", published in the May 2007 edition of Economic and Labour Market Review , LFS public/private sector classifications suffer from some reporting error and the data do not correspond to the National Accounts definition, which is used for the official public sector employment statistics mainly based on returns from public sector organisations.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Working age( 1)  public sector employees by nationality( 2 ) as a percentage of all working age public sector employees—United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 1997 to 2007 
			  Percentage 
			  Three months ending June each year  UK-born UK nationals  Overseas-born UK nationals  EU nationals  Non-EU nationals 
			 1997 92 4 2 2 
			 1999 92 4 2 2 
			 2001 92 4 1 3 
			 2002 92 4 2 2 
			 2003 91 4 2 3 
			 2004 91 4 2 3 
			 2005 91 4 2 3 
			 2006 90 5 2 4 
			 2007 90 5 2 4 
			 (1) Men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59. (2) Including country of birth for UK nationals.  Notes: Comparable data not available for 1996, 1998 and 2000. It should be noted that the above estimates: -exclude those who have been resident in the UK for less than six months -exclude students in halls of residence who do not have a UK resident parent -exclude people in most types of communal establishment (eg hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc)  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey

Terrorism: Aviation

Julian Brazier: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of proposals to limit the liability of UK airlines in the event of an airborne terrorist attack involving a UK airline in  (a) British and  (b) foreign airspace.

Kitty Ussher: The Government do not intend to exempt or limit airlines' liability. Aviation is an international business and the best route for issues of aviation liability is through reform of the 1952 Rome Convention in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
	The ICAO is currently working to revise the 1952 Rome Convention on third party liability. The next step is for the ICAO legal committee to consider the latest draft of a convention on unlawful interference. The UK will participate in these discussions when they take place next year.

Unemployment: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Wales were  (a) unemployed and  (b) economically inactive, broken down by (i) age group and (ii) sex, in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 November 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about how many people in Wales were (a) unemployed and (b) economically inactive, broken down by (i) age group and (ii) sex, in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (162895)
	The attached table gives the number of people in the categories requested for the three month period ending June each year, from 1997 to 2007. Comparable estimates are not available for 1998 and 2000.
	Each month the ONS publishes estimates of the number of unemployed people in Wales, for 16+ and working age (men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59). Please visit the following link;
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/LMs_FR_HS/WebTable18SA.xls
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Unemployed and economically inactive by working age( 1)  band and sex Wales, not seasonally adjusted, April to June 1997-2007( 2) 
			  thousand 
			   1997  1999  2001  2002  2003 
			   Unemployed  Inactive  Unemployed  Inactive  Unemployed  Inactive  Unemployed  Inactive  Unemployed  Inactive 
			  16-19   
			 Male 11 23 11 32 9 29 9 28 10 33 
			 Female 6 27 7 29 6 30 6 37 6 33 
			
			  20-24   
			 Male 14 10 11 15 11 17 9 17 7 17 
			 Female 8 24 5 26 6 26 5 38 5 25 
			
			  25-29   
			 Male 8 7 8 10 9 8 4 7 5 8 
			 Female 7 24 4 28 3 26 3 26 (3)— 21 
			
			  30-34   
			 Male 8 8 6 7 4 7 3 11 4 10 
			 Female 4 31 6 32 3 28 4 28 2 21 
			
			  35-39   
			 Male 7 10 5 8 3 12 3 9 2 8 
			 Female 6 26 2 27 4 31 3 24 1 20 
			
			  40-44   
			 Male 4 12 3 9 3 16 3 10 3 10 
			 Female 2 22 2 21 2 25 (3)— 20 1 23 
			
			  45-49   
			 Male 7 13 5 13 2 15 4 15 2 11 
			 Female 3 24 3 20 1 27 2 21 (3)— 18 
			
			  50-54   
			 Male 4 22 7 19 3 20 2 19 4 17 
			 Female 3 34 1 40 (3)— 33 3 34 (3)— 29 
			
			  55-59   
			 Male 2 28 3 32 3 30 2 28 3 31 
			 Female (3)— 39 2 39 (3)— 49 1 49 2 41 
			
			  60-64   
			 Male 3 42 2 42 2 50 3 47 1 40 
		
	
	
		
			  thousand 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007 
			   Unemployed  Inactive  Unemployed  Inactive  Unemployed  Inactive  Unemployed  Inactive 
			  16-19 
			 Male 7 26 11 35 9 39 12 35 
			 Female 5 31 6 32 4 32 11 30 
			  
			  20-24 
			 Male 3 14 5 24 13 21 13 17 
			 Female 8 32 5 29 5 26 6 31 
			  
			  25-29 
			 Male 3 5 4 13 10 9 4 5 
			 Female 2 21 3 16 2 19 2 23 
			  
			  30-34 
			 Male 2 12 2 6 3 7 (3)— 7 
			 Female 3 27 2 24 2 22 (3)— 21 
			  
			  35-39 
			 Male 2 9 3 8 3 9 2 9 
			 Female 4 25 2 24 4 26 5 21 
			  
			  40-44 
			 Male 3 14 4 13 3 9 3 9 
			 Female 1 21 1 26 5 24 3 27 
			  
			  45-49 
			 Male 2 12 3 9 2 11 3 10 
			 Female 2 21 (3)— 21 2 21 5 20 
			  
			  50-54 
			 Male 3 13 3 16 2 15 3 18 
			 Female 2 28 (3)— 25 2 26 (3)— 25 
			  
			  55-59 
			 Male (3)— 30 2 34 2 26 3 27 
			 Female 2 45 (3)— 48 2 42 2 45 
			  
			  60-64 
			 Male (3)— 45 (3)— 45 1 45 (3)— 45 
			 (1) Men aged 16 to 64 and Women aged 16 to 59. (2) Comparable estimates are not available for 1998 and 2000. (3) Sample sizes are too small to provide reliable estimates.  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

VAT

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average time for a new applicant to be registered for VAT in the last three-month period for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: The average processing times for VAT registration applications for the latest three-month period is as follows:
	
		
			  Period  Average time taken in days 
			 August 2007 42 
			 September 2007 39 
			 October 2007 28 
		
	
	These latest figures represent an upturn in HMRC performance, and this is an early sign that the improvement measures that are now in place are starting to have an impact. This upturn has taken place against an operational background that continues to present challenges, and alongside the ongoing need to operate pre-registration checks against serious abuse such as Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud.

Welfare Tax Credits

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many overpayments resulted from tax credit office error in each year since 2003; and of these how many are deemed recoverable.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the evidence given to the Treasury Select Committee on 14 March 2007 in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Jim Cousins).
	HM Revenue and Customs has been collecting information on official error in disputed overpayment cases since April 2007. For the first part of 2007-08 the proportion of cases with an element of official error remains at around 5 per cent. Of the official error cases identified, more than three quarters have had their overpayment remitted.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities have agreed co-sponsorship arrangements under the academies programme.

Jim Knight: The following local authorities have agreed to co-sponsor academies:
	Cheshire County Council;
	Corporation of London;
	Coventry City Council;
	Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea;
	Kent County Council;
	Manchester City Council;
	Sunderland City Council;
	Telford and Wrekin Council;
	West Sussex County Council.

Academies

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to place academies under local authority oversight; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Academies exemplify the new role of local authorities as commissioners rather than providers of schools. Academies are, in effect, jointly commissioned by the Department and the relevant local authority on a partnership basis. Academies are not maintained by the local authority in the traditional manner, but each academy has at least one local authority representative on its governing body. My Department has no plans to change these arrangements.

Academies: Special Educational Needs

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will allow local authorities to direct school academies to admit pupils who have a statement of special educational needs.

Jim Knight: Academies are required by their Funding Agreements to admit pupils who have a statement of special educational needs (SEN) in any case where the statement names(1) the academy. A local authority (LA) must first consult an academy before naming it on a SEN statement, but the academy must consent unless admission of the pupil would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children, and no reasonable steps may be made to secure compatibility. In the case of a dispute between a LA and an academy, either side can ask the Secretary of State to determine whether or not the academy should be named. That determination is final, subject only to the parents' right of appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
	The Secretary of State also has the power, again through Funding Agreements, to direct an academy to admit a named pupil. Academies are independent schools, and we do not believe it would be appropriate for this power to pass to LAs.
	(1) Part 4 of a SEN statement can be used to name the school which the LA believes to be best placed to meet the needs identified in earlier parts of the statement.

Capita

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was paid by the Department for Education and Skills to Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Jim Knight: Details of the amount paid to Capita and its subsidiaries by the Department for Education and Skills for 2004-05 and 2005-06 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 206,577,675 
			 2005-06 198,944,409 
		
	
	The expenditure relates to payments recorded in the Department's integrated financial information system and credited against Capita Group plc or its subsidiaries.

Children: Internet

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what arrangements are in place in England for teaching children in school about safe browsing of content on the internet; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 12 November 2007
	Becta has worked closely with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to ensure that the revised secondary curriculum includes references to the teaching of e-safety. This is reflected in the revised level descriptors for each of the key stages. Becta and the QCA have also developed an Internet Proficiency scheme for Key Stage 2 pupils.
	The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has also developed ThinkUKnow a primary and secondary education programme for schools which focuses on developing safe and responsible behaviours online. This has been delivered to over one million children.
	Becta works closely with local authorities and schools to ensure that there are appropriate measures in place to cover education and training for teachers, leaders and pupils, a safe secure infrastructure, effective policies and monitoring procedures all underpinned by robust standards and frameworks.
	In addition, the Prime Minister has asked clinical psychologist Dr. Tanya Byron to conduct an independent review looking at the risks to children from exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games. The review will consider how all in society, including schools, parents, Government and industry can support children and young people to use the internet safely.

Curriculum

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to his answer of 29 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 834-36W, on curriculum, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of children in year 11 in English schools taught each GCSE subject not listed in the table in the answer for each year between 1997 and 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: A table containing the number of 15-year-olds entered for each of the most popular subjects at GCSE for each year between 1997 and 2006 has been placed in the House of Commons Library. This information for 2007 will be available at a later date. The information for every subject at GCSE can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dyslexia

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make it his policy to require all teachers to undertake training on teaching children with dyslexia as part of their teaching degree.

Jim Knight: In order to be awarded qualified teacher status, all trainee teachers must demonstrate that they know how to make effective personalised provision for those they teach including pupils with special educational needs (SEN), and know how to differentiate their teaching accordingly. They are also required to demonstrate knowledge of current legislation and guidance on the safeguarding and promotion of the well-being of children and young people, including SEN and disability legislation and the SEN code of practice. The professional standards further require them to demonstrate understanding of the roles of colleagues with specific responsibility for groups of learners with SEN and other needs, and demonstrate ability to communicate effectively with children, young people, colleagues, parents and carers.
	As part of a wider programme to strengthen understanding of SEN and disability issues within initial teacher training, the Training and Development Agency for Schools has been developing and piloting specialist SEN and disability units for primary undergraduate courses and for newly qualified teachers during their induction. These include specific units on dyslexia. The units have been received well by both staff and students and it is planned to organise a national roll out to all training providers in the coming year. Work is under way to develop similar materials for secondary undergraduate courses and the PGCE.
	On 17 October, we launched the Inclusion Development Programme, a programme of confidence-raising professional development for serving teachers and other staff. The opening round focuses on training in relation to children's communication difficulties including dyslexia.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will reduce the age limit for education maintenance allowance eligibility.

Jim Knight: There are no current plans to reduce the age limit for education maintenance allowance eligibility.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many unqualified teachers marked  (a) A-level,  (b) GCSE,  (c) Key Stage 3 SATs and  (d) Key Stage 2 SATs examination papers in each year since 2001.

Jim Knight: The regulatory authorities for the public exams systems in England, Wales and Northern Ireland issue a joint code of practice which requires awarding bodies to ensure that candidates' work is marked by suitably experienced and trained examiners. Data on examiners' qualifications are not collected by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which is the regulatory authority in England for GCSEs and A-levels.
	The National Assessment Agency (NAA), which is responsible for the external marking of national curriculum tests, specifies the criteria for eligibility to be considered for employment as a test marker. Until 2003, these were the possession of a degree or equivalent, and to be a practising teacher. Since 2004, applicants with a degree and who are taking a Post Graduate Certificate of Education course have also been eligible. The NAA does not collect data about the details of test markers' qualifications.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has issued to exam boards on employing people overseas to mark exam papers;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the standard of literacy among overseas markers; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The regulatory authorities issue a code of practice which requires awarding bodies to ensure that candidates' work is marked by suitably experienced and trained examiners. The awarding bodies are responsible for their own selection criteria in recruiting examiners to ensure that they fulfil that remit.

Education: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what evidence he has assessed from international surveys of improvements in educational standards in England since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: International comparisons studies play an important role in benchmarking against other countries and as pointers to what we might learn from other school systems. They can also provide useful supplementary information about attainment, although they are not necessarily measuring the same content and processes as national tests.
	The most recent findings come from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) which was conducted in 2003. TIMSS found that the performance of 10-year-olds in England had improved significantly from 1995 to 2003 in both science and mathematics. However, the performance of 14-year-olds in England, as reported in TIMSS, had not increased significantly between 1995 and 1999 and 1999 and 2003, for either science or mathematics.
	The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), focusing on the mathematics performance of 15-year-olds, was also carried out in 2003 but concluded that data for the UK could not be considered valid either for international comparisons or for constructing trends in performance because response rates from schools and pupils did not meet its strict participation rate requirements. PISA was conducted again in 2006, this time with a focus on science, and findings from the study will be published on 4 December 2007.
	The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) was first carried out in 2001 and examined the reading performance of 10-year-olds. The average score for England was 553. Findings from the most recent round of PIRLS, conducted in 2006, will be published on 28 November 2007.

Educational Institutions: Music

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many specialist music colleges there are.

Jim Knight: holding answer 13 November 2007
	There are 48 specialist music colleges in England. This total includes establishments for which music is designated as a second specialism.

Educational Visits: Insurance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average cost of insurance taken out by schools in respect of school trips was in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold this information. Schools make their own insurance arrangements and are not required to provide the Government with information about their arrangements.

Free School Meals

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children claiming free school meals achieved five or more GCSEs in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: holding answer 14 November 2007
	The available information showing the proportions of children claiming free school meals who achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C is given in the following table:
	
		
			   Proportion of those claiming free school meals achieving 5 GCSE passes at grades A*-C (Percentage) 
			 2002(final) 23.0 
			 2003 24.4 
			 2004 26.1 
			 2005 29.9 
			 2006 33.0 
			  Source:  National Pupil Database 
		
	
	This information is not available prior to 2002. Information on the numbers of children claiming free school meals and achieving five or more GCSEs is not readily available for all years.
	These figures are compiled from a series of SFRs titled "National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics". The latest published information is for 2005/06. Final data and can be found at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000708/index.shtml
	Provisional information for 2007 is scheduled for publication on 27 November in SFR 38/2007 which can be found at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000759/index.shtml.

GCE A-level

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what qualifications are required to be an examiner for  (a) A-levels and  (b) GCSEs.

Jim Knight: The GCSE, GCE, GNVQ and AEA Code of Practice requires awarding bodies to ensure that students' work is marked by suitably experienced and trained examiners. The awarding bodies determine their own recruitment and selection requirements in light of the requirements of the Code of Practice.

GCSE: Standards

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what percentage of pupils gained five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what percentage of  (a) pupils and  (b) boys did not gain five GCSEs at grades A* to C in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what percentage of boys did not obtain one or more GCSEs at grades A*-C in each of the last five years;
	(4)  what percentage of pupils gained five GCSEs at grades A*-C in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C 52.9 53.7 56.3 58.5 60.3 
			 Percentage of boys gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C 47.9 48.8 51.4 53.8 55.8 
			   
			 Percentage of pupils who did not obtain one or more GCSEs at grades A*-C 24.2 24.2 22.5 21.1 19.2 
			 Percentage of boys who did not obtain one or more GCSEs at grades A*-C 29.0 28.9 27.0 25.3 22.9 
			   
			 Percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and Maths 41.9 42.6 44.3 45.3 45.7 
			  Notes: 1. Figures from 2006-07 are provisional. Schools will get the opportunity to amend their results as part of the data checking process before the revised figures are published in January 2008. 2. Figures relate to the achievements of pupils who were 15-years-old at the start of the school year, i.e. 31 August. 3. Results from 2004 onwards include equivalencies.  Source: Data taken from the annual GCSE Statistical First Releases (SFRs) available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000474/index.shtml (2002/2003) http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000585/index.shtml (2003/2004) http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000664/index.shtml (2004/2005) http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000702/index.shtml (2005/2006) http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000754/index.shtml (2006/2007)

GCSE: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of pupils gained five A* to Cs at GCSE including a modern language in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The information to answer the question can only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, information on the proportion of pupils entered for a modern foreign language at GCSE and the proportion of those pupils entered who gained an A*-C grade is readily available and given in the following table.
	
		
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 2) 
			 Percentage of pupils(1) entered for a modern foreign language at GCSE 74 77 78 79 78 76 73 68 59 51 46 
			 
			 Percentage of pupils(1) entered for a modern foreign language at GCSE gaining A*-C grade 48 48 50 50 51 52 50 53 60 64 66 
			 (1) Figures from 1997 to 2004 are for pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year. Figures from 2004 to 2007 are for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. (2) Figures for 2007 are provisional.

GCSE: Languages

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations  (a) his Department and  (b) the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has received about grade boundaries for modern language GCSE courses; what steps are being taken in response to those representations; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Lord Dearing's Languages Review, published in March 2007, identified the need to resolve the widely held perception that languages GCSEs are harder than other subjects. The review recognised that there are other reasons pupils do not perform as well in languages as in other subjects, such as the quality of teaching and the motivation of the pupil.
	As a result, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), as the regulator with responsibility for standards in GCSE, is looking at the issue. In the course of this work the QCA has received several representations from schools about grade boundaries for modern foreign languages. It is currently finalising its response.

Languages: Primary Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what minimum level of qualification is required to teach a modern foreign language in a primary school.

Jim Knight: To teach in a primary school as a qualified teacher it is necessary to have gained qualified teacher status via one of the undergraduate, postgraduate or employment-based routes into teaching. It will be for the head teacher to decide whether a teacher has the necessary knowledge and experience for a particular role in the school.
	The law also allows unqualified teachers to work as instructors when they have a specific skill or knowledge, where a qualified teacher is not available and again where the head teacher is satisfied that this person is able to properly fulfil this role.

Mathematics: Teachers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many qualified  (a) mathematics,  (b) physics and  (c) chemistry teachers there were in maintained schools in England in each year from 1988 to 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Information on the number of full-time teachers in service in secondary schools by subject of qualification is available from the Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey (SSCSS), an occasional sample survey undertaken in the years 1988, 1992, 1996, 2002 and 2007. 2007 figures are expected to be published in early 2008.
	The following table provides the estimated number of full-time secondary school teachers with a post A- level qualification in mathematics, physics and chemistry, irrespective of whether they are teaching the subject, in England for the years available.
	
		
			  Number of full-time teachers( 1)  in maintained secondary schools with a post A-level qualification in mathematics, physics and chemistry 
			   1988  1992  1996  2002 
			 Mathematics 42,000 38,100 27,100 n/a 
			 Physics 17,600 15,900 10,400 n/a 
			 Chemistry 16,600 15,000 10,700 n/a 
			 n/a - not available (1) Teachers are counted once for each subject in which they have a qualification.  Source:  Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey. 
		
	
	Information for 2002 is not available on the same basis. Figures for the number of teachers teaching each subject area and the level of qualification in that subject are available however and these are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Teachers in Service: Full-time teachers in maintained secondary schools—Highest post A-level qualifications( 1)  held in the subjects they teach( 2)  to year groups 7-13, England 
			   Percentages  
			   Degree( 3)  BEd  PGCE  Cert Ed  Other Qual.  No Qual.  Total teachers (Thousand) 
			 Mathematics 42 ± 3 15 ± 2 9 ± 2 7 ± 1 2 ± 1 24 ± 2 28.2 
			 English 51 ± 3 15 ± 2 7 ± 1 6 ± 1 1 ± 1 20 ± 2 29.4 
			 
			 Combined/General science 62 ± 3 12 ± 2 10 ± 2 4 ± 1 1 ± 1 11 ± 2 28.3 
			 Biology(4) 71 ± 5 7 ± 3 11 ± 4 3 ± 2 - ± 1 7 ± 3 5.6 
			 Chemistry(4) 72 ± 5 6 ± 3 12 ± 4 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 7 ± 3 5.2 
			 Physics(4) 63 ± 6 11 ± 4 15 ± 4 3 ± 2 - ± - 8 ± 3 4.7 
			 Other sciences(4) 10 ± 6 4 ± 4 5 ± 4 - ± - - ± - 80 ± 8 1.6 
			 
			 French 54 ± 3 7 ± 2 10 ± 2 3 ± 1 2 ± 1 23 ± 3 16.0 
			 German 47 ± 5 6 ± 3 13 ± 4 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 30 ± 5 6.9 
			 Spanish 37 ± 7 8 ± 4 19 ± 6 - ± - 3 ± 2 33 ± 7 3.6 
			 Other modern languages 18 ± 8 - ± - 9 ± 7 - ± - 3 ± 4 71 ±10 1.4 
			 
			 Design and technology(5) 26 ± 3 20 ± 3 7 ± 2 21 ± 3 2 ± 1 24 ± 3 20.9 
			 ICT(5, 6) 13 ± 2 6 ± 1 8 ± 2 2 ± 1 3 ± 1 69 ± 3 18.9 
			 Other/Combined technology(5) 30± 1 0 13 ± 8 16 ± 7 18 ± 9 2 ± 3 20 ± 9 1.6 
			 
			 Business studies 30 ± 5 11 ± 4 9 ± 3 4 ± 2 3 ± 2 43 ± 5 6.5 
			 Classics 33 ± 7 - ± - 2 ± 4 2 ± - - ± - 63 ± 7 1.0 
			 History 57 ± 4 9 ± 2 6 ± 2 6 ± 2 - ± - 23 ± 3 13.7 
			 Religious education 22 ± 3 8 ± 2 8 ± 2 4 ± 1 2 ± 1 57 ± 4 14.2 
			 Geography 53 ± 4 9 ± 2 6 ± 2 5 ± 2 1 ± 1 25 ± 3 13.7 
			 Other social studies 35 ± 5 6 ± 3 2 ± 2 2 ± 1 - ± 1 54 ± 6 4.9 
			 Combined arts/humanities/social studies 5 ± 3 4 ± 2 7 ± 3 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 83 ± 5 5.3 
			 
			 Music 59 ± 5 15 ± 4 5 ± 2 6 ± 3 2 ± 2 13 ± 4 6.3 
			 Drama 25 ± 4 10 ± 3 12 ± 3 6 ± 2 2 ± 1 45 ± 5 8.1 
			 Art and design 54 ± 4 10 ± 3 7 ± 2 9 ± 3 1 ± 1 20 ± 4 9.3 
			 Physical education 25 ± 3 31 ± 3 6 ± 2 13 ± 2 2 ± 1 22 ± 2 21.4 
			 Careers education 2 ± 2 1 ± 2 3 ± 3 4 ± 4 3 ± 4 87 ± 7 1.5 
			 PSHE(6) 1 ± - 1 ± - 2 ± 1 1 ± - - ± - 95 ± 1 61.4 
			 General studies 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 1 ± 1 - ± 1 - ± - 95 ± 2 7.1 
			 Citizenship 2 ± 1 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 - ± 1 - ± - 94 ± 2 9.0 
			 Other — — — — — — 32.8 
			 
			 Total(2, 7) 33 ± - 10 ±- 7 ± - 5 ± - 1 ± - 44 ± - 388.4 
			 '—' = zero or less than 0.5. (1) Where a teacher has more than one post A-level qualification in the same subject, the qualification level is determined by the highest level reading from left (Degree) to right (Other Qual.). For example, teachers shown under PGCE have a PGCE but not a degree or BEd in the subject, while those with a PGCE and a degree are shown only under Degree. (2) Teachers are counted once against each subject which they are teaching. (3) Includes higher degrees but excludes BEds. (4) Teachers qualified in combined/general science are treated as qualified to teach biology, chemistry, or physics. Teachers qualified in biology, chemistry or physics are treated as qualified to teach combined/general science. (5) Teachers qualified in other/combined technology are treated as qualified to teach design and technology or information and communication technology. Teachers qualified in design and technology or information and communication technology are treated as qualified to teach other/combined technology. (6) Information and Communication Technology is abbreviated as ICT and Personal Social and Health Education is abbreviated as PSHE. (7) 'Other' not included in total percentages.  Source: Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey 2002.

Music: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much has been spent on the Music Standards Fund in each year since 2004;
	(2)  what funding the Music Standards Forum is planned to receive over the next two years.

Jim Knight: holding answer 13 November 2007
	In respect of spending on the Music Standards Fund from 2003-04 I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, column 892W.
	The Music Standards Fund grant for the next two years, that is, for 2008-09 and 2009-10, totals £82 million a year. Local authorities are free to add to the Music Standards Funds from their general education budgets, and many do.

No Outsiders Project

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions his Department has had with the No Outsiders Project; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department has no direct involvement in the project although a DCSF official has visited the project to observe a training session and an official has met the project lead who outlined the project's intentions.
	The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (an independent organisation, established by Royal Charter). Its aims are to assist in understanding the requirements of The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007. The No Outsiders Project does not affect what is taught in the school curriculum. This is governed by the Education Act 1996, as amended, which includes children learning the value of all relationships, with a particular emphasis on marriage and its importance for bringing up children.

Pupils: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what share each local authority will receive of the additional money for deprived pupils who attend schools in less deprived local authorities in each year from 2007-08 to 2011-12; how this money will be targeted on pupils with high assessed needs; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table sets out allocations of the £40.9 million of funding within dedicated schools grant (DSG) to support children from deprived backgrounds who attend schools in less deprived local authorities. The amounts are increases in funding for 2008-09, and will become part of each qualifying authority's DSG baseline for 2009-10 and 2010-11. No funding was allocated for 2007-08; funding for 2011-12 will be allocated under the next spending review. Decisions on the targeting of this funding will be taken by local authorities in consultation with their schools forums, but our strong expectation is that it will be directed to those schools with the most disadvantaged pupil intakes.
	
		
			  LEA name  £ million 
			 Barnet 1.264 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 0.317 
			 Bedfordshire 1.219 
			 Bexley 0.284 
			 Bromley 0.518 
			 Buckinghamshire 0.384 
			 Cambridgeshire 0.362 
			 Cheshire 2.637 
			 Derbyshire 1.873 
			 Dorset 0.314 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1.171 
			 Essex 1.574 
			 Gloucestershire 1.023 
			 Hampshire 0.768 
			 Harrow 0.331 
			 Havering 0.077 
			 Hertfordshire 0.046 
			 Hillingdon 0.042 
			 Kent 3.963 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0.177 
			 Leicestershire 1.335 
			 Milton Keynes 1.558 
			 North Somerset 0.690 
			 North Yorkshire 1.493 
			 Northamptonshire 2.484 
			 Oxfordshire 0.147 
			 Poole 0.011 
			 Richmond upon Thames 0.277 
			 Shropshire 0.309 
			 Solihull 1.193 
			 Somerset 0.951 
			 South Gloucestershire 0.074 
			 Staffordshire 2.459 
			 Stockport 1.316 
			 Suffolk 1.408 
			 Surrey 0.048 
			 Sutton 0.218 
			 Swindon 0.564 
			 Thurrock 0.243 
			 Trafford 1.338 
			 Warrington 0.875 
			 Warwickshire 0.722 
			 West Sussex 0.425 
			 Wiltshire 0.178 
			 Worcestershire 1.576 
			 York 0.673

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority: Conferences

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what costs were incurred by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority for the hire of outside meeting rooms, broken down by  (a) location and  (b) general purpose of each meeting in 2006-07; how much has been incurred for the same purpose in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) incurred costs of £2.65 million in 2006-07 and £1.62 million in the current financial year to October for external meetings. Total costs by location are shown below. Information on the purpose of each meeting could be collected only at disproportionate cost, but a significant number were stakeholder meetings on key areas of QCA's work, such as developing Diplomas and the national consultation on the Secondary Curriculum.
	
		
			  Location  Amount (£) 
			  2006-07 (April-March)  
			 Bath 1,179 
			 Belfast 48,244 
			 Birmingham 128,396 
			 Blackburn 15,366 
			 Bolton 395 
			 Bournemouth 1,992 
			 Bradford 2,727 
			 Brighton 3,188 
			 Bristol 23,542 
			 Bromley 617 
			 Cambridge 2,233 
			 Cardiff 817 
			 Chelmsford 2,831 
			 Coventry 186,135 
			 Crewe 1,101 
			 Doncaster 205 
			 Dudley 609 
			 Enfield 5,509 
			 Exeter 271 
			 Guildford 5,058 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,767 
			 Ipswich 1,062 
			 Kingston upon Thames 81,371 
			 Lancaster 1,088 
			 Leeds 19,932 
			 Leicester 37,340 
			 Liverpool 2,181 
			 Llandudno 1,481 
			 London 1,472,455 
			 Manchester 57,208 
			 Middlesbrough 3,000 
			 Milton Keynes 124,694 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 9,517 
			 Northampton 134,684 
			 Nottingham 2,950 
			 Oldham 208 
			 Oxford 8,491 
			 Preston 220 
			 Reading 53,303 
			 Redhill 411 
			 Sheffield 27,277 
			 Slough 29,086 
			 Southampton 12,364 
			 St. Albans 1,101 
			 Stockport 60,186 
			 Stoke-on -Trent 1,756 
			 Swansea 705 
			 Telford 8,572 
			 Truro 1,109 
			 Twickenham 3,631 
			 Wakefield 270 
			 Warrington 30,000 
			 Watford 2,228 
			 Wolverhampton 212 
			 York 28,777 
			 Total 2,652,052 
			   
			  2007-08 (April-October)  
			 Bath 500 
			 Belfast 1,116 
			 Birmingham 43,917 
			 Blackburn 5,763 
			 Bournemouth 31,319 
			 Bristol 4,406 
			 Bromley 1,050 
			 Cambridge 589 
			 Cardiff 1,150 
			 Chelmsford 1,893 
			 Chester 17,214 
			 Coventry 99,774 
			 Crewe 11,958 
			 Croydon 304 
			 Darlington 1,058 
			 Derby 800 
			 Doncaster 316 
			 Dudley 563 
			 Exeter 3,542 
			 Gloucester 2,535 
			 Harrogate 1,256 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,218 
			 Hereford 470 
			 Huddersfield 240 
			 Hull 2,400 
			 Ipswich 5,145 
			 Kingston upon Thames 54,395 
			 Lancaster 6,711 
			 Leeds 5,961 
			 Liverpool 525 
			 London 1,050,836 
			 Manchester 11,118 
			 Middlesbrough 3,800 
			 Milton Keynes 29,245 
			 Northampton 39,529 
			 Norwich 1,946 
			 Nottingham 979 
			 Oxford 45,943 
			 Peterborough 469 
			 Plymouth 6,334 
			 Preston 6,575 
			 Reading 10,747 
			 Redhill 8,234 
			 Rochester 527 
			 Salisbury 242 
			 Sheffield 2,512 
			 Southampton 3,350 
			 Stockport 29,164 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1,558 
			 Sunderland 316 
			 Swansea 2,250 
			 Taunton 4,479 
			 Truro 898 
			 Tunbridge Welts 251 
			 Uxbridge 4,277 
			 Walsall 193 
			 Watford 530 
			 Wolverhampton 735 
			 Worcester 14,417 
			 York 28,447 
			 Total 1,618,989

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority: Conferences

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which London hotels have been used by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority for conferences and off-site meetings in each month since May 2007; at what cost; for what purpose; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The London hotels used by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in the months from May this year, and the monthly cost, are shown in the following table. Information on the purpose of each booking could be collected only at disproportionate cost, but a significant number of these events were related to the national consultation on the Secondary Curriculum.
	
		
			  Month 2007  Hotel  Cost (£) 
			 May City Inn Westminster  
			  Flemings Mayfair Hotel  
			  Hilton London Green Park  
			  Holiday Inn Mayfair  
			  Holiday Inn-London Bloomsbury  
			  Hotel Russell  
			  Le Meridien Piccadilly  
			  Millennium Hotel (London Mayfair)  
			  Novotel London Euston  
			  The Chesterfield Mayfair  
			  The Washington Mayfair 106,380 
			
			 June Bonnington Hotel London  
			  Flemings Mayfair Hotel  
			  Hilton London Green Park  
			  Holiday Inn Mayfair  
			  Hotel Russell  
			  The Chesterfield Mayfair 43,567 
			
			 July Bonnington Hotel London  
			  Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington  
			  Flemings Mayfair Hotel  
			  Hilton London Islington  
			  Holiday Inn Mayfair  
			  Hotel Russell  
			  Langham Hotel  
			  The Cavendish London  
			  The Chesterfield Mayfair  
			  The Park Lane Hotel  
			  Thistle Hotel Marble Arch 70,623 
			
			 August Flemings Mayfair Hotel  
			  Holiday Inn Mayfair  
			  Millennium Hotel (London Mayfair)  
			  The Chesterfield Mayfair  
			  The Rubens At The Palace Hotel 12,239 
			
			 September Flemings Mayfair Hotel  
			  Hilton London Green Park  
			  Hilton London Islington  
			  Hilton London Metropole  
			  Holiday Inn Mayfair  
			  Millennium Gloucester Hotel  
			  Millennium Hotel (London Mayfair)  
			  The Chesterfield Mayfair  
			  The Cumberland Hotel  
			  The Park Lane Hotel 74,919 
			
			 October Flemings Mayfair Hotel  
			  Le Meridien Piccadilly  
			  Radisson Edwardian Marlborough Hotel  
			  Rubens at the Palace  
			  The Chesterfield Mayfair  
			  Thistle Hotel Westminster 18,802 
			
			 Total  326,530

School Leaving

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of additional school places required in each local education authority area if the school leaving age is increased to 18 by 2013.

Jim Knight: The Department has not made detailed projections at a local level. Demographic changes will vary between local areas, of course, as will the nature of demand from young people, and local authorities will need to use their own projections to plan accordingly.
	The proposed legislation is for the education and training leaving age, not the school leaving age, to be raised to 18 years. This will be done in two stages, with the age not being raised to 18 until 2015. We estimate that most of the additional places required will be in FE colleges, not in schools.

School Leaving

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of those who did not stay on in education after the age of 16 years in 2007 had five or more A* to C grade GCSEs; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Youth Cohort Study (YCS) for England and Wales provides information on the activities of young people who have completed compulsory education. For the cohort of 16-year-olds who completed their compulsory education in 2002/03, the YCS estimates that 31 per cent. of those who did not stay on in full-time education after the age of 16 had five or more A* - C grade GCSEs or equivalent.
	There are very significant benefits to young people from staying in education and training until at least the age of 18. Staying in learning not only supports young people to get a better job; it also improves their life chances and equips them with the personal and social skills they need to thrive throughout their lives. That is why we have embarked on a series of education and training reforms which will ensure that there are suitable progression routes for all young people, and published on 5 November plans for raising the participation age to 18.

School Leaving

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has for the future of the educational maintenance allowance if the education leaving age is raised to  (a) 17 and  (b) 18 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Financial support for learning will be restructured when the compulsory participation age is raised to 18, and we are looking at a variety of methods to ensure that this is done in the most effective way to ensure young people are enabled to participate. In doing this we will build on the foundation of the educational maintenance allowance, and the views we gathered in the public consultation on "supporting young people to achieve."

School Leaving

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of 17-year-olds participated in education and training in 2006; what estimated proportion he expects to participate in  (a) 2013,  (b) 2015 and  (c) 2020; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what  (a) proportion and  (b) number of (i) 16, (ii) 17 and (iii) 18-year-olds were in education and training in each year from 1997 to 2006; and what his estimate is of the equivalent figures in each year from 2007 to 2015.

Jim Knight: The figures provided are for 16, 17 and 18-year-olds in 'education and work based-learning' in each year from 1997 to 2006 in England, and will include some learners in part-time training. These figures are available as additional information with the Statistical First Release published by the Department in SFR 22/2007, please see the following web link:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000734/index.shtml
	
		
			  Proportion participating in education and work-based learning 
			   Academic age 
			   16  17  18 
			 1997/98 84.6 76.5 56.7 
			 1998/99 83.7 75.9 55.8 
			 1999/2000 84.6 76.8 56.0 
			 2000/01 83.7 76.5 55.5 
			 2001/02 82.6 73.9 53.8 
			 2002/03 83.4 73.7 53.1 
			 2003/04 83.7 74.7 52.7 
			 2004/05 84.7 74.8 53.3 
			 2005/06 86.0 76.1 54.4 
			 2006/07 (provisional) 87.2 77.5 53.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Snapshot numbers participating in education and work-based learning 
			   Academic age 
			   16  17  18 
			 1997/98 512,800 467,500 333,800 
			 1998/99 497,700 458,300 338,400 
			 1999/2000 506,500 453,500 334,800 
			 2000/01 507,800 457,200 325,000 
			 2001/02 523,300 453,300 323,700 
			 2002/03 526,900 471,800 330,200 
			 2003/04 541 ,900 477,000 342,500 
			 2004/05 563,400 490,200 345,900 
			 2005/06 564,100 512,000 361,700 
			 2006/07 (provisional) 577,600 510,900 364,800 
		
	
	Projections of participation by 16 and 17-year-olds were published in the Green Paper "Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post-16". The following tables provide these by age and also include 18-year-olds. They are subject to change following receipt of up-to-date data and publication of the Learning and Skills Council's annual statement of priorities.
	
		
			  Projections of the proportion participating in education and work-based learning 
			   Academic a ge 
			   16  17  18 
			 2007/08 87.2 79.6 53.0 
			 2008/09 88.6 80.2 54.1 
			 2009/10 89.5 82.2 54.9 
			 2010/11 91.3 83.9 56.1 
			 2011/12 92.0 86.1 56.5 
			 2012/13 92.4 87.6 57.2 
			 2013/14 100.0 88.1 57.4 
			 2014/15 100.0 94.1 57.3 
			 2015/16 100.0 100.0 57.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Projections of snapshot numbers participating in education and work-based learning 
			   Academic age 
			   16  17  18 
			 2007/08 582,000 532,000 354,000 
			 2008/09 583,000 540,000 366,000 
			 2009/10 568,000 546,000 374,000 
			 2010/11 575,000 537,000 377,000 
			 2011/12 570,000 547,000 367,000 
			 2012/13 570,000 547,000 368,000 
			 2013/14 619,000 548,000 364,000 
			 2014/15 605,000 589,000 361,000 
			 2015/16 594,000 612,000 366,000 
		
	
	The estimated proportion of 17-year-olds expected to participate in 2020 is 100 per cent.

School Leaving

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimates he has made of the number of attendance orders which would be issued as a consequence of the raising of the education leaving age to  (a) 17 and  (b) 18 in each year from 2012 to 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: On 5 November we published a document setting out how our proposals to raise the participation age have developed since the consultation, and which aspects require legislation. This explains that enforcement action will be a last resort, but if a young person is not participating once suitable learning provision has been identified for them and appropriate support provided, the local authority will be able to issue an attendance notice, specifying precisely the provision the young person must attend and where and when they must do this. We estimate that very few young people will reach the stage of being issued with an attendance notice, as the focus of the policy will be on ensuring that there is an engaging and worthwhile learning programme for every young person and the right support, including financial support, to help them stay in learning and succeed. The estimates and projections in the initial regulatory impact assessment (which has been placed in the Library of the House) are being revised to reflect developments in the policy before being published in the impact assessment that will accompany the Education and Skills Bill.

School Leaving

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment has been made of the likely economic costs to  (a) individuals and  (b) businesses of raising the education leaving age to 18 in relation to (i) foregone employment income and (ii) additional staff costs; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: No individual will have to give up employment they already have as a result of our plans to raise the participation age to 18 from 2013. The first young people to be affected are currently in Year 6, so will have time to prepare. 16 and 17-year-olds cannot currently work more than 40 hours a week, and we do not propose to change this. An estimate of foregone productivity costs will be included in the impact assessment which will be published with the Education and Skills Bill.
	Individuals will not incur additional staff costs. Some businesses may incur additional staffing costs if they choose to employ 18-year-olds, to whom they must pay a higher National Minimum Wage, rather than 16 and 17-year-olds. The estimates in the initial regulatory impact assessment published alongside the Green Paper (which was placed in the Library of the House) are being revised to reflect developments in the policy and will be published in an impact assessment alongside the Education and Skills Bill.

School Leaving

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assumptions underlie his estimate of a £10 million cost of annual enforcement in relation to raising the education leaving age to 18; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: An initial regulatory impact assessment was published alongside the "Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post-16" Green Paper in March. This included estimated costs of £6.7 million to local authorities of enforcing the duty. This was based on the enforcement system set out in the Green Paper and the assumption that it would be used as a very last resort, with the focus of the policy on ensuring that there is an engaging and worthwhile learning programme available for every young person, along with the right support for them to access it successfully. As we said in the Green Paper, we will continue to make sure local authorities are properly resourced to deliver the new requirements.
	The Green Paper proposed that one option for enforcing attendance orders would be for an individual, on breach of the terms of such an order to be liable to prosecution. Court costs of £2.5 million and legal aid costs of between £0.25-0.7 million were therefore included in the initial RIA to reflect this. The estimates in the initial RIA are being revised to reflect developments in the policy before being published in an impact assessment alongside the Education and Skills Bill.

School Leaving

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how he calculated the estimated additional annual costs to local authorities of implementing the plans to raise the education leaving age to 18; if he will break down the estimated costs by  (a) registration system,  (b) support and guidance to students and  (c) enforcement; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: An initial regulatory impact assessment was published alongside the "Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post-16" Green Paper in March, and copies were place in the Library of the House. The estimated additional annual costs to local authorities were based on additional resources needed to track and contact young people not participating, provide help and support to address issues and re-engage in learning, and ultimately enforce the duty, through the system of attendance notices described in the Green Paper. No additional costs were forecast for registration, based on maintaining the Connexions Caseload Information System. An estimated cost of £50 million for additional tracking and support was included, and an estimated cost to local authorities of £6.7 million for enforcement (with other enforcement costs being incurred elsewhere). As we said in the Green Paper, we will make sure the local authorities are properly resourced to deliver the new requirements. The estimates in the initial regulatory impact assessment are being revised to reflect developments in the policy before being published in an impact assessment alongside the Education and Skills Bill.

School Leaving: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of places which will be required at educational establishments in Colchester constituency to cater for those between 16 and 18 years old if the school leaving age is to be raised to 18 years.

Jim Knight: The Department has not made detailed projections at a local level. Demographic changes will vary between local areas, of course, as will the nature of demand from young people, and local authorities will need to use their own projections to plan accordingly.
	The proposed legislation is for the education and training leaving age, not the school leaving age, to be raised to 18 years. We estimate that most of the additional places required will be in FE colleges, not in schools.

School Meals

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the price elasticity of demand for school lunches; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Secretary of State has not made such an assessment. Responsibility for setting the price of a school lunch rests with the local authority or, where the budget has been delegated, the school.

Schools: Admissions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of surplus places there were in  (a) primary,  (b) middle (where appropriate) and  (c) upper schools in the last period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The latest published data are for January 2006 where there were:
	 (a) 513,738 surplus primary places (including middle deemed primary) representing almost 12 per cent. of total capacity
	 (b) 244,111 surplus secondary places (including middle deemed secondary) representing around 7 per cent. of total capacity.
	We do not collate separate figures for middle schools. They are deemed to be either primary or secondary schools.
	The January 2007 surplus places data will be published later this year.

Schools: Construction

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to introduce standards of sustainability for new school buildings.

Jim Knight: We have adapted the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) for schools and since 2005 it has been our requirement that major school building projects achieve a minimum BREEAM rating of 'very good'. To complement this requirement we are planning to introduce new standards for carbon emissions attributable to energy used within new school buildings.
	The Department is also funding demonstration schemes that will achieve a BREEAM rating of 'excellent' and we have commissioned a study to investigate the potential implications of raising the target to 'excellent'. The outcomes of these initiatives work will inform future policy.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many assaults there were on adults in schools in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2006-07 which led to exclusions, broken down by (i) category of assault and (ii) local education authority; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Information on the number of permanent and fixed-period exclusions due to assault against an adult, broken down by local education authority, and covering the academic year 2004-05 has been placed in the House Of Commons Library.
	Data are not collected centrally on the category of assault.
	Data for 2006-07 will be available in June 2008.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the area cost adjustment factor is for schools in each local authority in England; what  (a) assumptions and  (b) data were used to determine these figures; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Under the spend plus methodology for distribution of Dedicated Schools Grant, there is no single set of area cost adjustment factors for schools by local authority in England. The level of Dedicated Schools Grant per pupil for each local authority will depend on the level of their spending on schools in 2005-06, which was closely related to the formula for Schools Formula Spending Share (FSS) for that year. The Schools FSS formula contained the area cost adjustment factors set out as follows in column 1. We have in 2006-07 and 2007-08 distributed funding for a number of ministerial priorities including the greater personalisation of learning, more practical learning options for 14-16 pupils, work force reform and the increased entitlement to early years provision from 33 to 38 weeks, all of which used the ACA factors set out below in column 2. Funding for the ministerial priorities in the school funding settlement for 2008-09 to 2010-11, which I announced to the House on 12 November also used the ACA factors in column 2.
	
		
			   Column 1  Column 2 
			  Local authority  2005-06 ACA  2006-11 ACA 
			 City of London 1.4764 1.4655 
			 Camden 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Greenwich 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Hackney 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Islington 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Lambeth 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Lewisham 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Southwark 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Tower Hamlets 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Wandsworth 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Westminster 1.2825 1.2761 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Barnet 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Bexley 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Brent 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Bromley 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Croydon 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Ealing 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Enfield 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Haringey 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Harrow 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Havering 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Hillingdon 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Hounslow 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Merton 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Newham 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Redbridge 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Sutton 1.1593 1.1543 
			 Waltham Forest 1.0929 1.0886 
			 Birmingham 1.0246 1.0168 
			 Coventry 1.0246 1.0168 
			 Dudley 1.0246 1.0168 
			 Sandwell 1.0246 1.0168 
			 Solihull 1.0246 1.0168 
			 Walsall 1.0246 1.0168 
			 Wolverhampton 1.0246 1.0168 
			 Knowsley 1 1 
			 Liverpool 1 1 
			 St. Helens 1 1 
			 Sefton 1 1 
			 Wirral 1 1 
			 Bolton 1.0179 1.019 
			 Bury 1.0179 1.019 
			 Manchester 1.0179 1.019 
			 Oldham 1.0179 1.019 
			 Rochdale 1.0179 1.019 
			 Salford 1.0179 1.019 
			 Stockport 1.0179 1.019 
			 Tameside 1.0179 1.019 
			 Trafford 1.0179 1.019 
			 Wigan 1.0179 1.019 
			 Barnsley 1 1 
			 Doncaster 1 1 
			 Rotherham 1 1 
			 Sheffield 1 1 
			 Bradford 1.0086 1.0074 
			 Calderdale 1.0086 1.0074 
			 Kirklees 1.0086 1.0074 
			 Leeds 1.0086 1.0074 
			 Wakefield 1.0086 1.0074 
			 Gateshead 1 1 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 1 1 
			 North Tyneside 1 1 
			 South Tyneside 1 1 
			 Sunderland 1 1 
			 Isles of Scilly 1.5 1.5 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1.0377 1.04 
			 City of Bristol 1.0377 1.04 
			 North Somerset 1.0377 1.04 
			 South Gloucestershire 1.0377 1.04 
			 Hartlepool 1 1 
			 Middlesbrough 1 1 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1 1 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 1 1 
			 City of Kingston-upon-Hull 1 1 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1 1 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1 1 
			 North Lincolnshire 1 1 
			 North Yorkshire 1 1 
			 York 1 1 
			 Bedfordshire 1.0563 1.0558 
			 Luton 1.0563 1.0558 
			 Buckinghamshire 1.0971 1.0957 
			 Milton Keynes 1.0916 1.0915 
			 Derbyshire 1 1 
			 Derby 1 1 
			 Dorset 1 1 
			 Poole 1 1 
			 Bournemouth 1 1 
			 Durham 1 1 
			 Darlington 1 1 
			 East Sussex 1.017 1.0137 
			 Brighton and Hove 1.017 1.0137 
			 Hampshire 1.048 1.0449 
			 Portsmouth 1.048 1.0449 
			 Southampton 1.048 1.0449 
			 Leicestershire 1.0019 1.0057 
			 Leicester 1.0019 1.0057 
			 Rutland 1.0019 1.0057 
			 Staffordshire 1 1 
			 Stoke on Trent 1 1 
			 Wiltshire 1.0321 1.0265 
			 Swindon 1.0321 1.0265 
			 Bracknell Forest 1.142 1.1361 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 1.142 1.1361 
			 West Berkshire 1.1339 1.1367 
			 Reading 1.1339 1.1367 
			 Slough 1.142 1.1361 
			 Wokingham 1.1339 1.1367 
			 Cambridgeshire 1.0506 1.0493 
			 Peterborough 1.0506 1.0493 
			 Cheshire 1.0217 1.0169 
			 Halton 1.0217 1.0169 
			 Warrington 1.0217 1.0169 
			 Devon 1 1 
			 Plymouth 1 1 
			 Torbay 1 1 
			 Essex 1.038 1.0358 
			 Southend 1.0133 1.0117 
			 Thurrock 1.0887 1.0854 
			 Herefordshire 1 1 
			 Worcestershire 1 1 
			 Kent 1.0252 1.021 
			 Medway 1.0145 1.0101 
			 Lancashire 1 1 
			 Blackburn 1 1 
			 Blackpool 1 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 1 
			 Nottingham City 1 1 
			 Shropshire 1 1 
			 The Wrekin 1 1 
			 Cornwall 1 1 
			 Cumbria 1 1 
			 Gloucestershire 1.0198 1.0199 
			 Hertfordshire 1.0988 1.0953 
			 Isle of Wight Council 1.048 1.0449 
			 Lincolnshire 1 1 
			 Norfolk 1 1 
			 Northamptonshire 1.0226 1.0189 
			 Northumberland 1 1 
			 Oxfordshire 1.0831 1.075 
			 Somerset 1 1 
			 Suffolk 1.007 1 
			 Surrey 1.142 1.1361 
			 Warwickshire 1.0275 1.0209 
			 West Sussex 1.0396 1.0228

Schools: Finance

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will list in tabular form the value of the guaranteed per pupil unit of funding for each local education authority in order of the largest sum payable downwards in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The guaranteed unit of funding per pupil for each local education authority for years 2008-09 to 2010-11 is provided in the following table. 2008-09 figures are ordered from the largest sum payable downwards.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Local authority  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 City of London 7,362 7,603 7,871 
			 Tower Hamlets 6,289 6,523 6,792 
			 Hackney 6,170 6,409 6,682 
			 Camden 6,161 6,373 6,618 
			 Lambeth 5,848 6,075 6,337 
			 Islington 5,812 6,043 6,310 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 5,757 5,956 6,186 
			 Southwark 5,756 5,961 6,200 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,635 5,831 6,059 
			 Lewisham 5,556 5,751 5,981 
			 Westminster 5,439 5,650 5,893 
			 Greenwich 5,361 5,576 5,827 
			 Wandsworth 5,146 5,376 5,639 
			 Newham 5,071 5,259 5,478 
			 Haringey 4,987 5,161 5,364 
			 Brent 4,894 5,102 5,342 
			 Ealing 4,832 5,007 5,213 
			 Hounslow 4,651 4,822 5,024 
			 Waltham Forest 4,584 4,747 4,940 
			 Manchester 4,571 4,731 4,919 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4,563 4,725 4,917 
			 Barnet 4,559 4,723 4,917 
			 Harrow 4,507 4,669 4,862 
			 Nottingham 4,500 4,658 4,843 
			 Merton 4,452 4,612 4,801 
			 Birmingham 4,448 4,605 4,790 
			 Enfield 4,437 4,596 4,785 
			 Slough 4,404 4,582 4,792 
			 Bristol, City of 4,366 4,520 4,702 
			 Hillingdon 4,361 4,519 4,709 
			 Liverpool 4,320 4,484 4,675 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,311 4,467 4,654 
			 Salford 4,309 4,462 4,642 
			 Croydon 4,267 4,432 4,627 
			 Reading 4,260 4,428 4,627 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,256 4,410 4,596 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4,254 4,405 4,583 
			 Sutton 4,253 4,409 4,596 
			 Luton 4,251 4,402 4,583 
			 Knowsley 4,236 4,414 4,621 
			 Halton 4,226 4,376 4,555 
			 Redbridge 4,214 4,380 4,575 
			 Sandwell 4,214 4,372 4,557 
			 Middlesbrough 4,182 4,330 4,506 
			 Rochdale 4,171 4,321 4,500 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 4,168 4,317 4,493 
			 Leicester 4,151 4,310 4,497 
			 Bexley 4,151 4,301 4,482 
			 Wolverhampton 4,145 4,309 4,502 
			 Thurrock 4,141 4,291 4,470 
			 Havering 4,137 4,287 4,468 
			 North East Lincolnshire 4,134 4,281 4,455 
			 Oldham 4,118 4,271 4,453 
			 Southampton 4,117 4,265 4,441 
			 Coventry 4,110 4,258 4,433 
			 Bradford 4,107 4,275 4,470 
			 Brighton and Hove 4,103 4,249 4,424 
			 Peterborough 4,098 4,246 4,422 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 4,096 4,256 4,443 
			 South Tyneside 4,092 4,241 4,417 
			 Milton Keynes 4,080 4,231 4,413 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 4,070 4,215 4,388 
			 Portsmouth 4,061 4,207 4,381 
			 Isle of Wight 4,051 4,198 4,373 
			 Rotherham 4,045 4,190 4,363 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 4,040 4,193 4,378 
			 Medway 4,034 4,179 4,351 
			 Hartlepool 4,029 4,173 4,345 
			 Southend-on-Sea 4,026 4,171 4,344 
			 Walsall 4,023 4,183 4,371 
			 Bracknell Forest 4,017 4,177 4,367 
			 East Sussex 3,997 4,141 4,313 
			 Sunderland 3,990 4,137 4,311 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 3,990 4,133 4,305 
			 Gateshead 3,986 4,129 4,300 
			 West Berkshire 3,984 4,137 4,321 
			 Tameside 3,983 4,126 4,298 
			 Blackpool 3,982 4,125 4,296 
			 Durham 3,982 4,125 4,296 
			 Bolton 3,978 4,125 4,301 
			 Derby 3,978 4,120 4,291 
			 St. Helens 3,977 4,120 4,290 
			 Surrey 3,976 4,129 4,313 
			 Bromley 3,966 4,123 4,311 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 3,960 4,102 4,272 
			 Dudley 3,949 4,092 4,263 
			 Wigan 3,948 4,091 4,262 
			 Kirklees 3,947 4,093 4,266 
			 Sheffield 3,947 4,096 4,272 
			 Darlington 3,944 4,086 4,255 
			 Doncaster 3,941 4,083 4,252 
			 Kent 3,938 4,081 4,251 
			 Wirral 3,937 4,089 4,269 
			 Lancashire 3,927 4,069 4,238 
			 Leeds 3,926 4,068 4,237 
			 Bury 3,926 4,068 4,238 
			 Essex 3,924 4,067 4,238 
			 Torbay 3,922 4,064 4,233 
			 Sefton 3,917 4,058 4,227 
			 Calderdale 3,912 4,053 4,222 
			 Telford and Wrekin 3,911 4,052 4,219 
			 Stockport 3,902 4,043 4,211 
			 Buckinghamshire 3,899 4,042 4,216 
			 Rutland 3,898 4,039 4,208 
			 Hertfordshire 3,896 4,039 4,212 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 3,891 4,033 4,204 
			 Plymouth 3,889 4,030 4,198 
			 Wakefield 3,881 4,022 4,190 
			 Cheshire 3,880 4,021 4,190 
			 West Sussex 3,877 4,018 4,186 
			 Oxfordshire 3,870 4,011 4,182 
			 North Yorkshire 3,854 3,993 4,160 
			 Trafford 3,852 3,992 4,160 
			 Barnsley 3,848 3,987 4,154 
			 Wokingham 3,844 4,005 4,198 
			 Nottinghamshire 3,842 3,981 4,148 
			 North Tyneside 3,836 3,974 4,140 
			 Cumbria 3,831 3,970 4,137 
			 Derbyshire 3,825 3,964 4,130 
			 Bournemouth 3,825 3,964 4,130 
			 Hampshire 3,824 3,964 4,132 
			 North Lincolnshire 3,822 3,961 4,127 
			 Warrington 3,819 3,958 4,125 
			 Bedfordshire 3,817 3,961 4,134 
			 Norfolk 3,807 3,945 4,111 
			 York 3,801 3,939 4,103 
			 Dorset 3,799 3,938 4,104 
			 Lincolnshire 3,795 3,933 4,099 
			 Warwickshire 3,789 3,927 4,093 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,787 3,926 4,093 
			 Northamptonshire 3,785 3,923 4,088 
			 Staffordshire 3,776 3,913 4,078 
			 Swindon 3,775 3,913 4,079 
			 Suffolk 3,763 3,900 4,065 
			 North Somerset 3,757 3,895 4,061 
			 Somerset 3,752 3,889 4,052 
			 Solihull 3,750 3,887 4,052 
			 Gloucestershire 3,744 3,881 4,046 
			 Cornwall 3,742 3,879 4,043 
			 Worcestershire 3,729 3,865 4,028 
			 Poole 3,724 3,860 4,024 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 3,715 3,851 4,015 
			 Shropshire 3,715 3,850 4,013 
			 Wiltshire 3,713 3,849 4,013 
			 Northumberland 3,711 3,850 4,016 
			 Devon 3,707 3,843 4,005 
			 Herefordshire 3,687 3,830 4,002 
			 South Gloucestershire 3,647 3,781 3,944 
			 Leicestershire 3,596 3,728 3,888 
		
	
	The main influences on the differences between authorities are relative deprivation; area costs; and the authority's historic spending above or below its assessment.

Schools: Fruit

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on providing fresh fruit in schools for four to six-year-olds in each financial year since 1997-98 for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The lottery provided £16 million towards the original pilots of the National School Fruit Scheme between 2000 and 2002. Lottery funding also provided £42 million to support scaling-up of the original pilots across five Government regions between 2002 and 2004.
	The Department of Health spent £0.75 million in 2001-02 and £0.3 million in 2002-03 on administering and evaluating the National School Fruit Scheme pilots.
	The national rollout of the scheme to all LEA infant, primary and special schools across England was completed at the end of 2004 and in the year 2004-05 the Department of Health spent £23.66 million on the scheme. In 2005-06 the scheme, now fully funded by the Department of Health, cost £37.41 million and in 2006-07 £36.21million.

Schools: Immigrants

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the impact of inward migration on schools in Chipping Barnet constituency over the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: Local authorities are responsible for balancing the demand and supply of school places in their area. They have a duty to ensure that there are sufficient school places, the needs of the local community are served, and good quality education is provided in a cost-effective way.
	The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of school places and the number of pupils on roll via an annual survey. Local authorities also provide area-wide forecasts of pupil numbers at primary and secondary levels. The earliest data available are for 2003 and the most recent are for 2007.
	The following table shows the number of school places, pupil numbers and the level of surplus places in Chipping Barnet for the past five years.
	
		
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Primary  
			 Capacity(1) 8121 8238 8238 8247 8053 
			 NOR(2) 7401 7543 7538 7453 7630 
			 Surplus(3) 720 695 700 794 423 
			  Secondary  
			 Capacity(1) 7447 7460 7460 7460 8020 
			 NOR(2) 7340 7350 7378 7496 7555 
			 Surplus(3) 107 110 82 0 465 
			 (1 )Capacity is the number of school places as at January (2 )NOR relates to the number of pupils on roll as at January (3) Surplus relates to the difference between the capacity of a school and the number of pupils on roll

Schools: Parents

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the average number of meetings per pupil per year that schools hold with parents or guardians to discuss children's performance;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of schools using email to provide feedback to parents on pupil performance.

Jim Knight: The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005 specify that head teachers are responsible for ensuring they send a written report to parents on their children once during the school year, or to the pupil where they are aged 18 or over.
	Many schools are already reporting on a termly basis to parents about their child's progress.
	The Department has just undertaken a survey on parental involvement in children's education. Report writing and analysis are under way. I anticipate the report will be published in spring 2008, and will indicate what proportion of parents have talked about how well their child is doing with teachers at regular events such as parents' evenings, parents meetings or review days arranged by the school.
	Many schools use technology such as email as part of wider school strategies for parental engagement or behaviour. The 'Harnessing Technology in Schools Survey' (National Centre for Social Research/Becta, July 2007) found that
	"although paper messages remained the predominant mode of communication with parents...70 per cent. of primary schools and 86 per cent. of secondary schools used emails to communicate with parents".

Schools: Sports

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the average number of hours spent on school sports per pupil in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in each year since 1996-97.

Kevin Brennan: The annual PE and School Sport Survey was introduced in 2003/04 and collects data relating to participation in PE and School Sport.
	Over the last four years, the percentage of pupils who took part in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport each week is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Primary  Secondary  Total 
			 2003/04 52 73 62 
			 2004/05 64 75 69 
			 2005/06 82 78 80 
			 2006/07 91 80 86 
		
	
	Prior to 2003/04, no data were collected relating to the amount of time spent on PE and school sport.

Schools: Standards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what annual improvement targets he has set for failing schools in 2007-08, broken down by school.

Jim Knight: The statutory duty for setting annual pupil performance targets rests with the Governing Body of every maintained school. Each school agrees their targets with the School Improvement Partner (SIP) who provides support and challenge to ensure the targets reflect the best ambition for the progress of all the pupils in the school. We expect local authorities (LAs) to review the targets for all of their schools to ensure that they are setting goals which are both ambitious and achievable. In the case of schools judged to be in need of special measures by Ofsted, the LA and the SIP will be closely involved in the annual target setting process with the head teacher and the Governing Body to ensure that the targets will support the school's improvement plan.
	The number of schools in special measures has fallen from 515 in 1997/08 to 246 at the end of the summer term this year. As part of the comprehensive spending review we have announced new targets for schools and LAs which will place a focus on improving progression throughout the education system and further reduce failure and underperformance.

Schools: Standards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools were closed due to poor performance on instruction from Ministers in each year since 1992.

Jim Knight: The Secretary of State's power to close a school under section 68 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (and prior to that section 19 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998) has not so far been used. It is a reserve power, applicable only to schools that Ofsted has judged to require special measures, and would only be used in exceptional circumstances.

Schools: Standards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proposals he plans to bring forward to implement the Prime Minister's announcements in relation to failing schools of 31 October; and what powers Ministers have to close failing schools.

Jim Knight: The forthcoming Children's Plan will set out the Government's ambition for school improvement and how the Department for Children Schools and Families will drive the necessary changes across the schools system.
	The Secretary of State has existing powers under section 68 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to direct a local authority to close a school which is in special measures on a date specified in the direction.

Secondary Education: Admissions

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of secondary schools were oversubscribed for admissions in 2007.

Jim Knight: The school admissions process is coordinated by local authorities in partnership with schools in their area. Information on the number of applications made for secondary school places is not collected centrally.
	The annual survey of school places provides information on the number of schools that are full to capacity or over capacity. Data from the 2007 survey show there are 1,045 secondary schools with no spare capacity—31 per cent. of all secondary schools in England.

Special Educational Needs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the average SATs test scores by special educational needs pupils taught in mainstream schools were in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how any  (a) A-level,  (b) GCSE,  (c) Key Stage 3 SATs and  (d) Key Stage 2 SATs marks were changed as a result of being re-marked, broken down by (i) subject and (ii) examination board in each year since 2001;
	(3)  how many  (a) A-level,  (b) GCSE,  (c) Key Stage 3 SATs and  (d) Key Stage 2 SATs marks were appealed and re-marked in each year since 2001, broken down by (i) subject and (ii) examination board;
	(4)  which are the 200 lowest performing secondary schools in terms of  (a) GCSE results,  (b) value added and  (c) the number of pupils leaving with no GCSE grade A to C passes over the last 10 years;
	(5)  which are the 200 lowest performing primary schools in terms of  (a) SATs results and  (b) value added over the last 10 years;
	(6)  what marks have been required in Key Stage  (a) 2 and  (b) 3 tests in (i) English and (ii) mathematics to achieve a level (A) 4 and (B) 5 in each year from 1997 to 2007; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  what percentage score has been required for a GCSE in mathematics at grade C for each examination board in each year from 1997 to 2007;
	(8)  how many maintained schools have refused to have their pupils take the Key Stage 3 English tests; and if he will make a statement;
	(9)  what percentage of the Key Stage 3 literacy tests were marked by overseas markers in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(10)  what his latest estimate is of the number of  (a) maintained and  (b) independent schools which introduced (i) international GCSEs and (ii) the International Baccalaureate in each year from 1997 to 2007; and if he will make a statement;
	(11)  how many modular exams for  (a) AS levels and  (b) A2 levels have been re-taken at least once by students in each year from 1997 to 2007; and if he will make a statement;
	(12)  how many children took  (a) GCSEs and  (b) A-levels in Tower Hamlets local authority area in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007; and how many of them achieved (A) five or more A* to C GCSEs and (B) better than or equal to one A grade and two B grades at A-level; and if he will make a statement;
	(13)  what proportion of pupils taking GCSEs secured a grade A*-C in both English and mathematics in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement;
	(14)  how many and what proportion of children educated in maintained schools in each inner London education authority achieved at least three A-levels at A grade in each year since 1997-98; and if he will make a statement;
	(15)  what proportion of year 11 pupils have taken five or more GCSE examinations in each year from 1990 to 2007; and if he will make a statement;
	(16)  if he will list the 20 English schools with the worst GCSE success rates in 2007 on the basis of  (a) five A*-C at GCSE and  (b) five A*-C at GCSE including mathematics and English;
	(17)  if he will list by local authority area all schools which achieved less than 30 per cent. five A*-C in GCSEs including mathematics and English in 2007;
	(18)  which schools in which fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils have achieved five A*-C grade GCSEs including English and mathematics in each year since 2002 have been rated as  (a) excellent and  (b) good by Ofsted.

Jim Knight: The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The data required for PQs 163569 and 163570 are not yet published. They will be available from the Library in January 2008.

Specialised Diplomas

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his latest estimate is of the proportion of young people who are expected to start the new vocational diplomas in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Figures put forward by the successful consortia applying through the Gateway Process indicate that there will be approximately 39,000 places available for learners on the five new 14-19 diplomas that will be available from September 2008. This represents around 1.2 per cent. of the total 14-19 population in that year, and is the first step on a phased roll-out of the new diplomas that will culminate in a national entitlement from 2013.

Specialist Schools

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools are designated high performing specialist schools.

Jim Knight: At re-designation specialist schools that meet certain published criteria are designated high performing specialist schools (HPSS). The published criteria for 2007 were:
	 (a) An overall Grade 1 Ofsted marking or
	 (b) An overall Grade 2 Ofsted marking with a Grade 1 in "Achievement and Standards" or
	 (c) An overall Grade 2 marking and with 60 per cent. or above 5+ A*-C GCSE including English and Maths in the 2006 KS4 results or
	 (d) An overall Grade 2 marking and in top 20 per cent. CVA national ranking and a minimum 35 per cent. 5+ A*-C GCSE including English and Maths in the 2006 KS4 results.
	Since 2005, 393 schools have been designated HPSS. HPSS schools are an important element in our drive to build system-wide reform. They have opportunities to take on additional roles working with other schools and the community.
	The published list of HPSS can be viewed at:
	www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/specialistschools/

Teachers: Pay

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons there are differences in teacher pay rates between local authorities in England; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: There are four long-established teacher pay areas, covering Inner London, Outer London, the "Fringe" (extending to certain parts of the Home Counties), and the rest of England and Wales (as defined in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document). Each of the four pay areas has, since 2004, had its own pay scales. The differences between pay scales broadly relate to differing economic circumstances linked to labour market conditions and cost of living pressures. Changes to the actual pay scales follow recommendations made by the independent School Teachers' Review Body.
	Any other differences that may arise between average pay rates in local authorities will be down to differences in the composition of the teaching work force, and, in the case of the limited number of authorities which have both 'Fringe' and England and Wales pay areas within their borders, the composition of the pay areas.

Teachers: Pay

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make a statement on teachers' pay from September 2008.

Jim Knight: We have received the School Teachers' Review Body's detailed recommendations covering teachers' pay from 2008. We are not in a position to announce our response until we have considered them further within the wider context of the Government's approach to public sector pay.

Teachers: Physical Education

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many dedicated physical education teachers have  (a) been appointed and  (b) left schools in each of the last four years;
	(2)  how many dedicated physical education teachers are employed in England.

Jim Knight: Information on the number of teachers appointed to and leaving schools by subject area is not collected centrally
	The following table provides the number of full-time teachers employed in maintained secondary schools by the highest post A-level qualification held in the subjects they teach, including physical education, for November 2002 which is the latest information available.
	
		
			  Teachers in Service: Full-time teachers in maintained secondary schools—Highest post A-level qualifications( 1)  held in the subjects they teach( 2)  to year groups 7-13, England 
			   Percentages  
			   Degree( 3)  BEd  PGCE  Cert Ed  Other Qual.  No Qual.  Total teachers (Thousand) 
			 Mathematics 42 ± 3 15 ± 2 9 ± 2 7 ± 1 2 ± 1 24 ± 2 28.2 
			 English 51 ± 3 15 ± 2 7 ± 1 6 ± 1 1 ± 1 20 ± 2 29.4 
			 
			 Combined/General science 62 ± 3 12 ± 2 10 ± 2 4 ± 1 1 ± 1 11 ± 2 28.3 
			 Biology(4) 71 ± 5 7 ± 3 11 ± 4 3 ± 2 - ± 1 7 ± 3 5.6 
			 Chemistry(4) 72 ± 5 6 ± 3 12 ± 4 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 7 ± 3 5.2 
			 Physics(4) 63 ± 6 11 ± 4 15 ± 4 3 ± 2 - ± - 8 ± 3 4.7 
			 Other sciences(4) 10 ± 6 4 ± 4 5 ± 4 - ± - - ± - 80 ± 8 1.6 
			 
			 French 54 ± 3 7 ± 2 10 ± 2 3 ± 1 2 ± 1 23 ± 3 16.0 
			 German 47 ± 5 6 ± 3 13 ± 4 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 30 ± 5 6.9 
			 Spanish 37 ± 7 8 ± 4 19 ± 6 - ± - 3 ± 2 33 ± 7 3.6 
			 Other modern languages 18 ± 8 - ± - 9 ± 7 - ± - 3 ± 4 71 ±10 1.4 
			 
			 Design and technology(5) 26 ± 3 20 ± 3 7 ± 2 21 ± 3 2 ± 1 24 ± 3 20.9 
			 ICT(5, 6) 13 ± 2 6 ± 1 8 ± 2 2 ± 1 3 ± 1 69 ± 3 18.9 
			 Other/Combined technology(5) 30± 1 0 13 ± 8 16 ± 7 18 ± 9 2 ± 3 20 ± 9 1.6 
			 
			 Business studies 30 ± 5 11 ± 4 9 ± 3 4 ± 2 3 ± 2 43 ± 5 6.5 
			 Classics 33 ± 7 - ± - 2 ± 4 2 ± - - ± - 63 ± 7 1.0 
			 History 57 ± 4 9 ± 2 6 ± 2 6 ± 2 - ± - 23 ± 3 13.7 
			 Religious education 22 ± 3 8 ± 2 8 ± 2 4 ± 1 2 ± 1 57 ± 4 14.2 
			 Geography 53 ± 4 9 ± 2 6 ± 2 5 ± 2 1 ± 1 25 ± 3 13.7 
			 Other social studies 35 ± 5 6 ± 3 2 ± 2 2 ± 1 - ± 1 54 ± 6 4.9 
			 Combined arts/humanities/social studies 5 ± 3 4 ± 2 7 ± 3 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 83 ± 5 5.3 
			 
			 Music 59 ± 5 15 ± 4 5 ± 2 6 ± 3 2 ± 2 13 ± 4 6.3 
			 Drama 25 ± 4 10 ± 3 12 ± 3 6 ± 2 2 ± 1 45 ± 5 8.1 
			 Art and design 54 ± 4 10 ± 3 7 ± 2 9 ± 3 1 ± 1 20 ± 4 9.3 
			 Physical education 25 ± 3 31 ± 3 6 ± 2 13 ± 2 2 ± 1 22 ± 2 21.4 
			 Careers education 2 ± 2 1 ± 2 3 ± 3 4 ± 4 3 ± 4 87 ± 7 1.5 
			 PSHE(6) 1 ± - 1 ± - 2 ± 1 1 ± - - ± - 95 ± 1 61.4 
			 General studies 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 1 ± 1 - ± 1 - ± - 95 ± 2 7.1 
			 Citizenship 2 ± 1 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 - ± 1 - ± - 94 ± 2 9.0 
			 Other — — — — — — 32.8 
			 
			 Total(2, 7) 33 ± - 10 ±- 7 ± - 5 ± - 1 ± - 44 ± - 388.4 
			 '—' = zero or less than 0.5. (1) Where a teacher has more than one post A-level qualification in the same subject, the qualification level is determined by the highest level reading from left (Degree) to right (Other Qual.). For example, teachers shown under PGCE have a PGCE but not a degree or BEd in the subject, while those with a PGCE and a degree are shown only under Degree. (2) Teachers are counted once against each subject which they are teaching. (3) Includes higher degrees but excludes BEds. (4) Teachers qualified in combined/general science are treated as qualified to teach biology, chemistry, or physics. Teachers qualified in biology, chemistry or physics are treated as qualified to teach combined/general science. (5) Teachers qualified in other/combined technology are treated as qualified to teach design and technology or information and communication technology. Teachers qualified in design and technology or information and communication technology are treated as qualified to teach other/combined technology. (6) Information and Communication Technology is abbreviated as ICT and Personal Social and Health Education is abbreviated as PSHE. (7) 'Other' not included in total percentages.  Source: Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey 2002.

Truancy: Special Educational Needs

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of unauthorised absences pupils with  (a) special educational needs and  (b) a physical disability accounted for in each year since 2001 for which records exist.

Jim Knight: The available information is shown in the following table.
	Information on whether a pupil has a physical disability is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies( 1) : Pupil absence by special educational needs (SEN), 2005/06, England 
			   Total 
			Percentage of half days missed( 3) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 2)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 71,700 8.99 2.48 11.47 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements 501,340 8.80 2.89 11.69 
			  Of which: 
			 Pupils at School Action Plus 153,450 10.05 4.05 14.10 
			 Pupils at School Action 347,880 8.25 2.38 10.63 
			 Pupils with SEN (with and without statements) 573,030 8.82 2.84 11.66 
			 Pupils with no identified SEN 2,410,010 6.30 1.06 7.35 
			  
			 Total(4) 2,983,040 6.82 1.42 8.24 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Pupil numbers are as at January 2006. Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 with sole and dual (main) registration. Excludes boarders. (4) Includes pupil enrolments for whom information on SEN was missing.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Trust Schools

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will list each  (a) trust school and (b) foundation school in England as at (i) 1 September 2006 and (ii) 1 September 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Copies of the lists of foundation and trust schools existing on the dates specified have been lodged with the House Library. To produce this information, it was necessary to reconcile two separate databases carrying with it a small margin for error.
	The regulations of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 governing trust schools came into force in May 2007 and according to our records there were no trust schools set up under that legislation before August 2007.

Young People: Devon

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds in Devon are in  (a) education,  (b) training and  (c) employment.

Jim Knight: The Department's estimates of the number and proportion of young people participating in education, training and employment cannot be disaggregated to local authority level. However, we can give an indication of the activity of 16 to 18-year-olds from information collected by the Connexions service. The following table shows the proportion of young people in Devon at the end of 2006 who were known by Connexions to be in  (a) education,  (b) training and  (c) employment.
	
		
			   Percentage of all 16 to 18-year-olds 
			 Education 64.9 
			 Training 10.5 
			 Employment 19.0 
		
	
	Young people who are in both work and learning are recorded according to their main activity.
	It should be noted that information on young people in education and training provided by Connexions is collected on a different basis from that published by the Department, and does not, therefore, give the same totals.

Young People: Education

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many 16 to 18- year-olds were recorded as not being in education, employment or training in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: holding answer 14 November 2007
	The following table shows the numbers and proportions of young people of academic age 16 to 18 who were estimated to be not in education, employment or training for each year since 1997.
	
		
			  16-18-year-olds not in education, employment of training, end year 1997  to  2006 
			   Number  Proportion ( Percentage) 
			 1997 154,300 8.5 
			 1998 170,300 9.4 
			 1999 144,500 8.1 
			 2000 162,900 9.1 
			 2001 175,900 9.5 
			 2002 180,200 9.5 
			 2003 178,700 9.2 
			 2004 190,000 9.7 
			 2005 217,100 10.9 
			 2006 206,200 10.3 
		
	
	These figures are available in the Statistical First Release (SFR) 22/2007, published by the Department at the following web link:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000734/sfr22_2007.pdf.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Business and University Collaboration

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the economic value of collaboration between universities and business over the last 10 years.

Ian Pearson: University business collaboration is an important driver of innovation and one we have in, for example, the Higher Education Innovation Fund and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. It is not practical to put a single number estimate on the economic value of this activity, but Funding Councils collect data from universities through the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey, which shows significant increases over recent years in key measures of collaboration.

Skills

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to improve the global competitiveness of the UK skills base.

Bill Rammell: To succeed in the global economy we must ensure that our work force has world-class skills, carry out world-class research, and drive innovation in all areas. That is why we are committed becoming a world leader on skills by 2020, and to making real progress towards that ambition by 2011. To support that, Government investment in further education and skills will increase by 7 per cent. in real terms between 2007-08 and 2010-11.

Higher Education

Chris Mole: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what progress has been made in encouraging greater participation in higher education by people from under-represented groups. [164271].

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what progress has been made in encouraging greater participation in higher education by people from under-represented groups.

John Denham: The latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that for 2005/06, the proportion of young entrants to full-time first degrees coming from lower socio-economic class backgrounds stands at 29.1 per cent.—up from 27.9 per cent. in 2002/03. Furthermore, the Department's own, published evidence shows that the proportion of young people from lower socio-economic class backgrounds participating in higher education has risen from 17.6 per cent. in 2002/03 to 19.9 per cent. in 2005/06.

Part-time Students

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision to withdraw funding from institutions for equivalent or lower qualifications students in the part-time educational sector.

Bill Rammell: We have asked the Funding Council to reduce funding for equivalent level qualifications by £100 million by 2010-11. The council is consulting on the how to implement this policy. The entire £100 million sum will be recycled within the higher education sector. Much of it will be available to support part-time provision for those already in the workplace who do not yet have a higher education qualification.

Government Research Establishments

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make a statement on progress made in knowledge transfer between research institutions and industry as part of the EU Lisbon Agenda.

Bill Rammell: A number of initiatives have taken place in line with the Lisbon strategy. For example, the European Competitiveness Council adopted a proposal for an Intellectual Property Charter for Europe in June. This aims to create a level playing field for industry and academia across Europe on the processes for IP management and exploitation.

National Institute for Medical Research

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what consultation was undertaken with  (a) Camden council and  (b) local residents on the proposed move of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, to central London.

Ian Pearson: The MRC consulted Camden council on three occasions about the possibility of moving the NIMR to the National Temperance hospital site on Hampstead Road. To date there has been no formal consultation with Camden council or local residents on the proposals for the move of the NIMR to the site adjacent to the British Library. Should the BLISS consortium (MRC, CRUK, Wellcome Trust and UCL) be successful in acquiring the site, the consultation and planning process would naturally need to be followed.

National Institute for Medical Research

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what the proposed time scale is for the move of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, to central London;
	(2)  what progress has been made on the proposed move of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, to central London; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what plans he has for the future use of the Temperance hospital site; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what the most recent estimated cost is of the proposed move of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, to central London.

Ian Pearson: A consortium of the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and University College London have submitted a bid to purchase a site adjacent to the British Library. Detailed proposals for the move and its cost will be developed once the outcome of this bid is known, including, if necessary, alternative proposals for the future use of the National Temperance hospital site. MRC envisages that the relocation of the National Institute of Medical Research might be completed by 2013.

National Institute for Medical Research

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which organisations are planned to be housed alongside the National Institute for Medical Research in the event of a move to the British Library site; how much each will contribute to set-up costs; what floor space area each will occupy; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The MRC, Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and University College London have created a partnership to build a new international centre for medical research and scientific excellence. Detailed proposals for the scheme, which will include the proposed financial contribution of the current and any future partners, will be developed in 2008.

National Institute for Medical Research

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether sites at the rear of the British Library have been secured for the future location of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The BLISS consortium, (MRC, CRUK, Wellcome Trust and UCL) have submitted an expression of interest for the land adjacent to the British Library to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), as part of the sale process. The expression of interest is still under consideration.

National Institute for Medical Research: Public Appointments

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects the appointment of a permanent director of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, to be made; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: This is a matter for the Medical Research Council. I have asked the MRC's chief executive to write to my hon. Friend.

Science: Finance

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his plans are for public funding for science and innovation; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Public funding for science and innovation continues to rise. The science budget will increase from £3.4 billion in 2007/08 to just under £4 billion by 2010/11. On innovation, the Technology Strategy Board will develop and lead a strategic programme with its partners worth £1 billion over the next three years. This includes £180 million earmarked by the English Regional Development Agencies and £120 million by the Research Councils, to work in partnership with the Technology Strategy Board, to provide a coherent package of technology and innovation support that is aligned to maximise impact.

Students: Fees and Charges

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what research his Department is undertaking on the effect of university tuition fees.

Bill Rammell: The Department is undertaking on-going research which will inform the independent commission on tuition fees. The commission will, of course, be able to gather its own evidence.

Students: Grants

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of prospective students who have been unable to access funding offered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council due to delays in the postal system during the last three years.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 12 November 2007
	This is a matter for the Arts and Humanities Research Council. I have asked the chief executive to reply to the hon. Member's question.

Students: Industrial Training

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans his Department has to work with employers to ensure that the higher education sector equips students with appropriate skills.

Bill Rammell: We want employers to work more closely with the higher education sector to meet the higher skill needs of the work force and those of students still in education. Employers value broader skills such as communication, analysis and problem-solving and while a good higher education experience delivers these, more could be done. We will encourage this through our Higher Level Skills Strategy due to be published shortly.

University of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what matters he discussed with the university of York during his recent visit to York; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: I very much enjoyed my visit to York university, and the discussions I had with staff and students there. I was able to see how the university is flourishing on the international stage, while at the same time making a real contribution to the local economy and society. I greatly value visits of this kind, because I have made clear that the Government want those working in the higher education sector and students to contribute towards the making of policy. I also valued the opportunity to speak with students from York university about a range of educational issues, as part of the Government's student listening programme.